The angular position of a particle that moves around the circumference of a circle with a radius of 5m has the equation:

theta = a*t^2
Where a is constant.
theta is in radians
t is in seconds
Determine the total acceleration and its intrinsic components for any time t and give the values when t = .5s where a = 3 rad*s^(-2)

I don't understand what it means by intrinsic components or how to find the total acceleration. I tried to use the equations a=v^2/r and v=(2pi*r)/T , but I don't know how I would incorporate time.

Thank you to anyone who can break this down for me

You have two components of acceleration:

a(centripetal) = v^2/r, which is the centripetal acceleration directed inward towards the center of the circle.

dtheta/dt = omega = 2*a*t
v = omega*r

The second component of acceleration is the tangential acceleration, a(tangential) = (d2/dt(theta))*r = 2*a*r, which is directed tangential to the circle.

The magnitude of the acceleration (the total acceleration) is

(a(centripetal)^2 + a(tangential)^2)^0.5

To understand the terms "total acceleration" and "intrinsic components," let's first clarify some concepts:

1. Total Acceleration: In circular motion, the total acceleration is the net acceleration acting on the particle at any given time. It is the vector sum of two components: tangential acceleration and radial acceleration.

2. Intrinsic Components: These refer to the specific accelerations in the radial and tangential directions.

Now, let's find the total acceleration and its components using the equation provided and the appropriate formulas.

Given:

θ = a*t^2 (Equation for angular position)
a = 3 rad*s^(-2) (Constant)
t = 0.5 s (Time)

To find the total acceleration, we need to determine both the tangential and radial accelerations.

Step 1: Find Angular Velocity (ω):
Since θ = a*t^2, we can differentiate this equation with respect to time to find the angular velocity:
ω = dθ/dt = 2*a*t
Substituting the given values:
ω = 2*3*(0.5) = 3 rad/s

Step 2: Find Tangential Acceleration (at):
Tangential acceleration is related to angular acceleration (α) and angular velocity (ω) by the equation:
at = r*α
In this case, since the radius (r) is given as 5 m, we need to find the angular acceleration (α).
Differentiating the angular velocity equation with respect to time:
α = dω/dt = 2*a
Substituting the given value of a:
α = 2*3 = 6 rad/s^2

Now, we can calculate the tangential acceleration:
at = r*α = 5*6 = 30 m/s^2

Step 3: Find Radial Acceleration (ar):
Radial acceleration is related to angular velocity (ω) by the equation:
ar = r*ω^2
Substituting the given values:
ar = 5*(3^2) = 45 m/s^2

Step 4: Find Total Acceleration (a_total):
The total acceleration is the vector sum of tangential acceleration (at) and radial acceleration (ar). We can calculate it using the Pythagorean theorem:
a_total = sqrt(at^2 + ar^2)
Substituting the calculated values:
a_total = sqrt((30^2) + (45^2)) = sqrt(900 + 2025) = sqrt(2925) ≈ 54.03 m/s^2

So, the total acceleration at t = 0.5s is approximately 54.03 m/s^2.

To summarize the intrinsic components of acceleration:

1. Tangential Acceleration (at) = 30 m/s^2
2. Radial Acceleration (ar) = 45 m/s^2

These components represent the acceleration along the tangent and radial directions respectively.

In summary, the total acceleration at t = 0.5s is approximately 54.03 m/s^2, with tangential acceleration (at) equal to 30 m/s^2 and radial acceleration (ar) equal to 45 m/s^2.