An aerobatic airplane pilot experiences weightlessness as she passes over the top of a loop-the-loop maneuver. the acceleration of gravity is 9.8 m/s 2. if her speed is 430 m/s at this time, find the radius of the loop. answer in units of km.

Question

Rachel Watkins

Physics

27 February, 21:16

An aerobatic airplane pilot experiences weightlessness as she passes over the top of a loop-the-loop maneuver. the acceleration of gravity is 9.8 m/s 2. if her speed is 430 m/s at this time, find the radius of the loop. answer in units of km.

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Answers (1)

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Adam Hatfield · Answer 1

The acceleration due to gravity serves as the centripetal acceleration of the objects that orbits the Earth. The centripetal acceleration due to gravity is calculated through the equation,

a = v²/r

where v is the speed and r is the radius. Substituting the known values to the equation,

9.8 m/s² = (420 m/s) ² / r

The value of r from the equation is 18000 m or equal to 18 km.

Answer: 18 km