Which of the following is not a good example of uniform circular motion?
a) a person riding on a ferris wheel that is turning at a constant rate
b) a person taking off on an airplane to fly around the world on a path defined by the equator
c) a race car driving at a constant speed around a circular track
d) a subatomic particle traveling at a constant speed in a circular accelerator
Aren't all these examples of centripetal acceleration? I can't rule any one of these choices out. =0
You're correct that all of these examples involve centripetal acceleration, which is the acceleration directed towards the center of the circular path. However, the question is asking for a good example of uniform circular motion, which requires two conditions to be satisfied: constant speed and constant radius.
Let's analyze each option to determine if it meets these conditions:
a) a person riding on a ferris wheel that is turning at a constant rate: This is a good example of uniform circular motion because the person on the ferris wheel is moving at a constant speed around the circle, and the distance from the center (radius) remains constant.
b) a person taking off on an airplane to fly around the world on a path defined by the equator: This is not a good example of uniform circular motion because although the path around the equator is circular, the speed of the airplane is not constant. The speed of an airplane varies depending on factors like wind speed and direction, resulting in non-uniform motion.
c) a race car driving at a constant speed around a circular track: This is a good example of uniform circular motion as the race car maintains a constant speed while moving around the circular track, and the radius remains the same.
d) a subatomic particle traveling at a constant speed in a circular accelerator: This is also a good example of uniform circular motion because the subatomic particle maintains a constant speed while moving in a circular path within the accelerator, and the radius remains constant.
Based on the analysis, the answer is (b) a person taking off on an airplane to fly around the world on a path defined by the equator, as it does not exhibit uniform circular motion due to the non-constant speed.