The Student Room Group

Vertical loop

A motorcyclist rides up a vertical loop of radius 40m. His engine cuts out when he has travelled an eighth of the way round the full loop.

If there is no resistance to motion, what is the minimum speed he must be travelling at this point to complete the full circle?

I drew a diagram where he starts at u m/s and forces mg and Reaction downwards, with acceleration towards the centre. Do I need to consider energy and does the fact that he is an 1/8 round the loop make a difference?
Reply 1
Avatar for Hopple
Hopple
18
Firstly, the reaction shouldn't be downwards, it should be towards the centre, and the acceleration isn't necessarily towards the centre (and mostly, it isn't).

If the motorbike is to complete a full circle, what must be true of the reaction force all the way round?

You will need to consider energy, and the fact that he's an eighth of the way round tells you how much GPE he has already/how much KE he'll need to have to get to the top.
Reply 2
Avatar for bbrain
bbrain
OP
2
Original post by Hopple
Firstly, the reaction shouldn't be downwards, it should be towards the centre, and the acceleration isn't necessarily towards the centre (and mostly, it isn't).

If the motorbike is to complete a full circle, what must be true of the reaction force all the way round?

You will need to consider energy, and the fact that he's an eighth of the way round tells you how much GPE he has already/how much KE he'll need to have to get to the top.


The reaction force all the way round must be equal to mg cos (45) -mv^2/r ?
Reply 3
Avatar for BabyMaths
BabyMaths
Original post by bbrain
...loop of radius 40m.
Really?
Reply 4
Avatar for Hopple
Hopple
18
Original post by bbrain
The reaction force all the way round must be equal to mg cos (45) + mv^2/r ?


That's the reaction force one eighth of the way round, make a small change in that to see what it must be at some angle theta of the way round. But what I was getting at was that it must be greater than (or equal to) 0 all the way round, particularly at the top.

Edit: should be plus, not minus. Changed the bit I quoted from you.
(edited 11 years ago)
Reply 5
Avatar for Hopple
Hopple
18
Original post by BabyMaths
Really?


Maths stuntmen are the most impressive.
Reply 6
Avatar for bbrain
bbrain
OP
2
Can I have some real help with the question please?

....................../´¯/)
....................,/¯../
.................../..../
............./´¯/'...'/´¯¯`·¸
........../'/.../..../......./¨¯\
........('(...´...´.... ¯~/'...')
.........\.................'...../
..........''...\.......... _.·´
............\..............(
..............\.............\...
(edited 11 years ago)
Reply 7
Avatar for Hopple
Hopple
18
Original post by bbrain
Can I have some real help with the question please?

....................../´¯/)
....................,/¯../
.................../..../
............./´¯/'...'/´¯¯`·¸
........../'/.../..../......./¨¯\
........('(...´...´.... ¯~/'...')
.........\.................'...../
..........''...\.......... _.·´
............\..............(
..............\.............\...


Post 5.

Quick Reply

Related discussions

Latest

Trending

Trending

Articles for you