Question

An aircraft executes a horizontal loop of radius 1.00 km with a steady speed of 900 km/h. Compare its centripetal acceleration with the acceleration due to gravity.

Answer 1

Radius of the loop, $r=1km=1000m$

Speed of the aircraft,$v=900km/h=900\times 5/18=250m/s$

Centripetal acceleration, $a_c=\frac{v^2}{r}$

$=\frac{(250{)}^2}{1000}=62.5m/s^2$

Acceleration due to gravity, $g=9.8m/s^2$

Ratio: $\frac{a_c}{g}=62.5/9.8=6.38$

$a_c=6.38g$