A car turns off the highway onto a curved exit ramp.
a) What type of motion does the passangers' fram of reference experience relative to the ground?
b) Explain why the passangers feel a force to the right as the car turns.
c) How would an observer on an overpass describe the motion of the passangers and the car at the begining of the curve?
a) The passengers' frame of reference experiences circular motion relative to the ground. This means that they feel as if they are being pushed towards the outside of the curve as the car turns.
b) The passengers feel a force to the right as the car turns because of inertia. Inertia is the tendency of an object to resist changes in its motion. When the car turns, the passengers want to continue moving in a straight line due to their inertia. However, the car's tires exert a centripetal force towards the center of the curve, which causes the car to change direction. As a result, the passengers feel a force in the opposite direction, pushing them to the right.
c) An observer on an overpass would see both the car and the passengers moving in a curved path as the car enters the curve. The observer would see the passengers being pushed towards the outside of the curve due to their inertia. The car would also appear to be curving as it follows the path of the exit ramp. The observer might describe this motion as a combination of forward motion and a sideways force pushing the car and passengers to the right.