Problem 6-3: Calculating the number of revolutions given the tires radius and distance traveled

An automobile with 0.260 m radius tires travels 80,000 km before wearing them out. How many revolutions do the tires make, neglecting any backing up and any change in radius due to wear?

Solution:

The rotation angle $\Delta \theta$ is defined as the ratio of the arc length to the radius of curvature:

\Delta \theta = \frac{\Delta s}{r}

where arc length $\Delta s$ is distance traveled along a circular path and $r$ is the radius of curvature of the circular path.

From the given problem, we are given the following quantities: $r=0.260 \ \text{m}$ , and $\Delta s = 80000 \ \text{km}$ .

\begin{align*} \Delta \theta & = \frac{\Delta s}{r} \\ \\ \Delta \theta & = \frac{80000 \ \text{km} \times \frac{1000 \ \text{m}}{1 \ \text{km}}}{0.260 \ \text{m}} \\ \\ \Delta \theta & = 307.6923077 \times 10^{6} \ \text{radians} \times\frac{1 \ \text{rev}}{2\pi \ \text{radians}} \\ \\ \Delta \theta & = 48970751.72 \ \text{revolutions} \\ \\ \Delta \theta & = 4.90 \times 10^{7} \ \text{revolutions} \ \qquad \ \color{DarkOrange} \left( \text{Answer} \right) \end{align*}

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