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College Physics by Openstax Chapter 6 Problem 21

Centripetal acceleration of an amusement park ride shaped like a Viking ship

Problem:

Riders in an amusement park ride shaped like a Viking ship hung from a large pivot are rotated back and forth like a rigid pendulum. Sometime near the middle of the ride, the ship is momentarily motionless at the top of its circular arc. The ship then swings down under the influence of gravity. The speed at the bottom of the arc is 23.4 m/s.

(a) What is the centripetal acceleration at the bottom of the arc?

(b) Draw a free-body diagram of the forces acting on a rider at the bottom of the arc.

(c) Find the force exerted by the ride on a 60.0 kg rider and compare it to her weight.

(d) Discuss whether the answer seems reasonable.

Solution:

Statics 3.1 – Equilibrium of Truss Members in Pin Connection | Hibbeler 14th Edition

The members of a truss are pin connected at joint O. Determine the magnitudes of F1 and F2 for equilibrium. Set θ=60.

Figure 3.1: Engineering Mechanics: Statics Equilibrium of Particle
Figure 3.1

Solution:

Free-body diagram:

Free-Body Diagram for Problem 3.1 of Engineering Mechanics: Statics 14th Edition by Russell C. Hibbeler

Equations of Equilibrium:

Take the sum of horizontal forces considering forces to the right positive, and equate to zero.

∑Fx=0F1cos⁡60°+F2sin⁡70°−5cos⁡30°−45(7)=00.5F1+0.9397F2=9.9301(1)\begin {aligned} \sum{F}_x &= 0 & \\ F_1 \cos{60 \degree}+F_2 \sin{70 \degree}-5\cos{30 \degree}-\dfrac{4}{5}\left(7\right) &= 0 &\\ 0.5F_1+0.9397F_2&=9.9301 &(1)\\ \end {aligned}

Take the sum of vertical forces considering upward forces positive, and equate to zero.

∑Fy=0−F1sin⁡60°+F2cos⁡70°+5sin⁡30°−35(7)=0−0.8660F1+0.3420F2=1.7(2)\begin{aligned} \sum F_y&=0 &\\ -F_1\sin60\degree+F_2\cos70\degree+5\sin30\degree-\dfrac{3}{5}\left(7\right)&=0 &\\ -0.8660F_1+0.3420F_2&=1.7 &(2)\\ \end{aligned}

Now, we have two equations with two unknowns F1 F_1 and F2 F_2 . So, we have a system of two equations. We can solve this using algebra, or we can directly use our calculator with this capability. The answers are

F1=1.83 kNF2=9.60 kNF_1=1.83 \: \text{kN}\\ F_2=9.60 \: \text{kN}