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Road engineers design the "bank" in a road along a curve such that absolutely no friction is required to keep the car on the road at a specified speed, say 40 mph. With the road at the proper angle for the speed, the vertical component of the normal force will just cancel the weight of the car while the horizontal component (directed towards the center of the curve) will provide the exact force necessary for the centripetal acceleration. (Consult page 143 of your text if you need more information.) This speed is posted on a sign that says "40 mph when icy". Assume that during a particularly nasty ice storm, the road is essentially frictionless. What could possibly happen if an overly cautious driver decides to take the curve below the 40 mph speed for which the bank has been designed? Be sure to explain your answers in terms of how each of the forces acting on the car is effected by the speed. |  |
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