A 174 pound Jimmy Cheek is riding on a 54 ft diameter Ferris Wheel. The normal force on Jimmy Cheek is 146 pounds when Jimmy is at the top of the wheel. Determine the angular velocity of the Ferris Wheel.

Relax

Respuesta :

To solve this problem we will apply the concepts related to the balance of Forces, the centripetal Force and Newton's second law.

I will also attach a free body diagram that allows a better understanding of the problem.

For there to be a balance between weight and normal strength, these two must be equivalent to the centripetal Force, therefore

[tex]F_c = W-N[/tex]

[tex]m\omega^2r = W-N[/tex]

Here,

m = Net mass

[tex]\omega[/tex]= Angular velocity

r = Radius

W = Weight

N = Normal Force

[tex]m\omega^2r = 174-146[/tex]

The net mass is equivalent to

[tex]F = mg \rightarrow m = \frac{F}{g}[/tex]

Then,

[tex]m = \frac{174lb}{32.17ft/s^2}[/tex]

Replacing we have then,

[tex](\frac{174lb}{32.17ft/s^2})\omega^2 (54ft) =174lb-146lb[/tex]

Solving to find the angular velocity we have,

[tex]\omega = 0.309rad/s[/tex]

Therefore the angular velocity is 0.309rad/s