At takeoff, a commercial jet has a 60.0 m/s speed. Its tires have a diameter of 0.850 m.
(a) At how many rev/min are the tires rotating?
(b) What is the centripetal acceleration at the edge of the tire?
(c) With what force must a determined 1.00×10−15 kg bacterium cling to the rim?
(d) Take the ratio of this force to the bacterium’s weight.
Solution:
We are given the following quantities: linear speed, v=60.0 m/s, radius is half the diameter, r=0.425 m.
Part A
We can compute the angular velocity based on the given using the formula, ω=rv.
ωωω=rv=0.425 m60.0 m/s=141.1765 rad/sec
Now, we can convert this into the required unit of rev/min.
ωωω=141.1765 secrad×2π rad1 rev×1 min60 sec=1348.1363 rev/min=1.35×103 rev/min (Answer)
Part B
The centripetal acceleration at the edge of the tire can be computed using the formula, ac=rω2.
acacacac=rω2=(0.425 m)(141.1765 rad/sec)2=8470.5918 m/s2=8.47×103 m/s2 (Answer)
Part C
From the second law of motion, the force is equal to the product of the mass and the acceleration. In this case, we are going to use the formula, Fc=mac. We are given the mass to be m=1.00×10−15 kg, and the centripetal acceleration is solved in Part B.
FcFcFcFc=mac=(1×10−15 kg)(8470.5918 m/s2)=8.4705918×10−12 kg m/s2=8.47×10−12 N (Answer)
Part D
The ratio of this force, Fc to the weight of the bacterium is
mgFcmgFcmgFc=(1×10−15kg)(9.81 m/s2)8.4705819×10−12 N=863.4640=863 (Answer)