Physics problem!! please help!?
An airplane traveling at 495km/h needs to reverse its course. The pilot decides to accomplish this by banking the wings at an angle of 41∘
Find the time needed to reverse course.
http://session.masteringphysics.com/problemAsset/1...
I have not learned Lift force in my physics class. I would appreciate any help or insight I can get with this problem. Please do not solve the entire problem. I just need to be led in the right direction.
Thank you!
Comments
The lift is the force acting perpendicular to the wings that keep the plane from falling. That's about all you need to know.
Lift can be split into 2 components, like any force.
Horizontal component = Lsin(T) (where 'T' represent theta)
Vertical component = Lcos(T).
Note that Lcos(T) is equal to the weight of plane if there is no vertical acceleration.That means
Lcos(T) = mg (equation 1)
The horizontal component of L, Lsin(T) is the only horizontal force on the plane and therefore is the centripetal force
So we can equate centripetal forces to Lsin(T)
mv^2/r = Lsin(T) (equation 2)
By dividing equation 2 by equation 1 you should find m cancels on the left and L cancels on the right. You end up with an equation containing only v,r and g and tan(T)
This allows you to find the radius of the path, r.
To reverse course the plane must travel a distance half the circumference (pi.r). Knowing the speed you can now find the time taken.
Remember to change v to m/s for the calculation.