Does a car accelerate when it goes around a corner at a constant speed?
2 Answers
Yes.
Explanation:
An acceleration is necessary for an object to change direction.
The car experiences a centripetal force as it turns the corner as a result of friction. This in turn causes a centripetal acceleration, which causes the direction of the velocity to change.
An object, for example, can be moving at a constant speed around a circular track, but its velocity must be constantly changing in order for the object to be constantly changing direction. The magnitude of the velocity does not change, but the direction does.
Yes.
Explanation:
Acceleration is found by change in velocity over change in time. Since velocity is a vector (not scalar) quantity, it has both a magnitude AND a direction. Since the direction the car is travelling in is constantly changing around the bend (it's not travelling in a straight line), the velocity is technically changing. Thus the car is accelerating. :)
