- #1
Senjai
- 104
- 0
Homework Statement
A frictionless 3.0 kg roller coaster cart rolls down an incline, and then "loops the loop."
At what height, h, should the cart be released so that it does not fall off the circular track.
The loop has a radius of 6.0m and a height of 12.0 m.
Homework Equations
[tex] a_c = \frac{v^2}{r} [/tex]
The Attempt at a Solution
This is an old practice exam, so if this has anything to do with escape velocities, it has been taken out of our curriculum.
I don't know quite where to start.
I know that you would require a certain velocity, conceptually, to be able to make it around the loop.
And [tex] v \propto h [/tex] because of the law of energy conservation. but i don't know what minimum velocity i would need?
I could kinda see a relation of using a centripetal acceleration to find out the velocity required and therefore the height, and find out the centripetal accelleration using Newtons Second, i just don't know how i can work it out.