A Ferris wheel with a radius of 12 m makes one complete rotation every 8 seconds.
a. Using the fact that the distance traveled by a rider in one rotation is 2πr, the circumference of the wheel, find the speed with which the riders are moving.
b. What is the magnitude of their centripetal acceleration?
c. For a rider with a mass of 40 kg, what is the magnitude of the centripetal force required to keep that rider moving in a circle? Is the weight of the rider large enough to provide this centripetal force at the top of the cycle?
d. What is the magnitude of the normal force exerted by the seat on the rider at the top of the cycle?
e. What would happen if the Ferris wheel is going so fast that the weight of the rider is not sufficient to provide the centripetal force at the top of the cycle?