Question

Can you drive your car in such a way that your tangential acceleration is zero while at the same time your centripetal acceleration is nonzero? Give example or state why not.

Answer 1

No, not possible.

Explanation:

For Circular Motion, Centripetal Force `F_c= - mr omega^2`

Where `m` is the mass of the body assuming it to be a point mass.

`r` is the radius of the circle and `omega` is angular velocity.
`-` sign means that the force is opposite to the radius vector and is directed towards the center.

We also know that centripetal force and centrifugal force, action-reaction force pair are associated with circular motion.

What the problem is posed that one is zero and other non-zero this is not physically possible as action and reaction are equal and opposite.