Question

When a car takes a sudden turn, it is likely to fall:
(A) away from the centre of curvature.
(B) towards the centre of curvature.
(C) in the forward direction.
(D) in the backward direction.

Answer 1

Hint: In this question, we have to find the direction of fall of the car. We will use the property of inertia and centrifugal force to explain the car’s movement.

Complete step by step answer:
We assume that the car was initially moving in a straight line. We know the property of inertia, which is a tendency of a body to maintain its rest state or continue to move in uniform motion when an external unbalanced force acts on it. So, when a car moving in a straight line takes a sudden turn the car will tend to remain in its initial state. Hence, it will be thrown towards the outer side when a turn is taken.

We will explain it further. The centrifugal force is a force that results from the inertia of a body moving in a circle and it acts in the outward direction along the radius. We will express
the centrifugal equation as $f = \dfrac{{m{v^2}}}{r}$
Here $r$ is the radius of curvature, $v$ is the velocity of the car and $m$ is the mass of the car. The mass of the car will be constant. If the speed of the car is also a constant, then the centrifugal force will depend on the radius of curvature. When a car takes a turn, its radius of curvature decreases. Since the centrifugal force changes inversely with the radius of curvature $r$, we can say that the centrifugal force increases as the car takes the turn.
Hence, Due to this increase in centrifugal force, the car will move away from the centre of curvature. We can also say that the car will move towards the outer side.

So, the correct answer is “Option A”.

Note:
We should note that the centripetal force is that force which lets an object continue in its circular motion and it is directed towards the centre. Centrifugal force has the same magnitude as the centripetal force but acts in opposite directions.