Question

reinforcement
projectile and circular motion
use the diagrams below to complete the following.
(diagrams: figure 1. dry road with a car, figure 2. icy road with a car)

1. what force causes a moving object to move in a curved or circular path? ______
2. what is the centripetal force that allows a car to move around a sharp curve in a roadway? ______
3. draw an arrow on the top diagram to show the direction the car will move when it reaches point a.
4. draw an arrow on the bottom diagram to show the movement of the car if the centripetal force of the road and car is not enough to overcome the car’s inertia when it reaches point b.
5. explain why the car is accelerating when it reaches point a in the first diagram.

Explanation:

Question 1

In physics, the force that makes an object move in a curved or circular path is centripetal force. It acts towards the center of the circular path, changing the object's direction (while speed may be constant, velocity changes due to direction change).

For a car moving around a sharp curve on a roadway, the centripetal force is provided by the friction between the car's tires and the road surface. On a dry road, friction is higher; on icy roads, friction is lower, affecting the car's ability to curve.

At point A on the dry road diagram, when the car is moving along the curve, if we consider the direction it would move if the centripetal force (friction) is sufficient, but for the direction when it reaches A (assuming it's following the curve or, if we think about inertia, but in the dry road case, it follows the curve. Wait, actually, when moving in a circular path, at any point, the direction of motion (tangent to the curve) is perpendicular to the radius. So at point A, the arrow should be drawn tangent to the curve at A, in the direction the car is moving (so if the car is moving along the curve towards A, the tangent direction at A would be the direction it continues, but since it's a curve, the tangent is the straight - line direction the car would tend to go if there were no centripetal force, but in the dry road, it's following the curve. Wait, the question says "the direction the car will move when it reaches point A". So at point A, the car is moving along the curve, so the direction is tangent to the curve at A. So we draw an arrow tangent to the curve at point A, in the direction of the car's motion (so if the car is approaching A along the curve, the tangent at A is the direction it would move at that instant).

Answer:

Centripetal force

Question 2