Could a steering wheel count as an acclerater, or deaccelerater of a car?

Question

Ok, this is a tangential and centripetal acceleration conceptual question:

"The gas pedal and the brakes of a car accelerate and decelerate the car. Could a steering wheel fall into either of these categories? Explain."

10 points for the first good answer.

Answer 1

Whenever there is a change in direction, there is acceleration, therefore a steering wheel can act as an accelerator. The acceleration could be positive or negative(deceleration).

Answer 2

Yes, it can.

Velocity is a vector, which means it has a magnitude and direction. Any change in the magnitude or change in the direction will create a new vector, or velocity.

The definition of acceleration is the change in velocity over time. Since turning the steering wheel of the car changes the car's direction, it changes the vector, and thus changes the velocity. As this change is not instantaneous (happening over 0 time), there is acceleration equal to that change in velocity divided by the time it took to make that change.

In a frictionless world, the car would maintain its tangential velocity, and thus have only normal, or centripetal, acceleration. However, as we do have friction, as long as your foot is not on the gas or break pedals as you make the turn, the car will have a negative tangential acceleration (decceleration), but a positive normal (centripetal) acceleration. The only way to find out of the total acceleration is a decceleration or an acceleration is to know the values and do the geometry (Pythagorian Theorem).

Answer 3

A steering wheel can accelerate and decelerate a car. It can decelerate the car by turning the wheels back and forth (tangential deceleration) creating more friction, yet it can accelerate a car because acceleration is defined as the change in velocity over the change in time. Velocity is a vector, so if the direction changes (turning the wheel and therefore the car), then the acceleration changes (centripetal acceleration is the inward acceleration of an object moving in a circle; i.e. a car turning).

Answer 4

Yep, acceleration is the change in velocity over time. Velocity is a vector quantity which has both a magnitude and direction. So when you turn a car at constant speed you are technically accelerating because you are changing the velocity vector by changing the direction. The resultant centrifugal force is generated by the turn. Again at constant speed if you take the care out of the turn and allow it to go straight you do the opposite so you decelerate.

Answer 5

.. It's the same category... acceleration and deceleration are basically the same thing. Anything that changes the velocity of something is an accelorator or decelorator. To decelorate, you slow down... Accelerate, you speed up. But changing direction is also a form of acceleration.

Answer 6

there is no such thing as deacceleration it is negative acceleration. No because the steering wheels of most cars only control the direction of the speed to create velocity. The steering wheel could direct you to a place of a acceleration such as a hill or more frictional surface.

Answer 7

If you steer the car down a hill the car would accelerate.
And if you steer the car up a hill it would decelerate.

It wouldn't work to steer the car like they steer skateboards (back and forth), because the momentum on a skateboard is due partly to the person's body movements to impart additional momentum to the board.

But technically speaking, at the edge of logic, yes a steering wheel could be considered a secondary accelerator and decelerator (though I'd hate to stake my life on it).

Answer 8

Yes. If you quickly pull the steering wheel to the left or right to initiate a 180 degree turn, you will cause a pivoting action of the vehicle which will result in centripetal acceleration.

Answer 9

my take is, if anything, the steering wheel will cause the car to slow down but never go faster. turning the wheel will create extra fiction on the tires and slow down a vehicle faster than letting the wheel go straight. when the tires are not parallel to the direction of motion of the vehicle, fiction increases.

Answer 10

Actually it an accelerator. In physics if you change your direction it is considered Acceleration.
The best way I can explain. Say you going straight down the road. You are not moving left or right! IF, you turn to the right you have accelerated to the right! I hope you see what I say.