A child on a sled comes flying over the crest of a small | StudySoup

Textbook Solutions for Physics: Principles with Applications

Chapter 5 Problem 7Q

Question

A child on a sled comes flying over the crest of a small hill, as shown in Fig. 5-31. His sled does not leave the ground (he does not achieve "air"), but he feels the normal force between his chest and the sled decrease as he goes over the hill. Explain this decrease using Newton's second law.

                                                         

Solution

Step 1 of 2

While the child is sliding with the sled over a horizontal surface, the normal force acting on its chest, according to Newton’s third law, will balance its weight, i.e., it will be equal to its weight. Thus the child will have no acceleration while sliding over a horizontal surface.

But as the child moves towards the hill's crest, the surface becomes curved, and he is now sliding over a curved path. Thus, the child will experience a net centripetal force towards the center of the curved path (crest of the hill). This leads to a decrease in the normal force acting on the child's chest, so the normal force does not entirely support the child's weight.

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Title Physics: Principles with Applications 6 
Author Douglas C. Giancoli
ISBN 9780130606204

A child on a sled comes flying over the crest of a small

Chapter 5 textbook questions

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