, the car must maintain a speed where the centripetal force at the top of the loop is at least equal to the force of gravity. The minimum speed is approximately (or about 1. Identify physical constants
At the top of the loop, two main forces are at play: gravity ( a-roller-coaster-has-a-vertical-loop-with-radius-of-15m
The minimum speed required for the roller coaster to stay on the track at the top of a radius loop is . , the car must maintain a speed where
The centripetal acceleration must equal the acceleration due to gravity to keep the car from falling: The centripetal acceleration must equal the acceleration due
) and the normal force from the track. For the "minimum" speed (the point where the car just stays on the track), the normal force is zero. We use: ≈is approximately equal to 2. Set up the equation