The new york wheel is the world's largest ferris wheel. it's 183 meters in diameter and rotates once every 37.3 min. find the magnitude of the average acceleration at the wheel's rim, over a 8.60-min interval.

The radius of the Ferris wheel is r = 83/2 = 91.5 m.

The angular velocity is
ω = (2π rad)/(37.3*60 s) = 2.8075 rad/s
The tangential velocity is
v = rω = 0.2569 m/s

The arc length traveled in 8.6 min (= 8.6*60 s = 516 s) is
s = (91.5 m)*(2.8075 rad/s)*(516 s) = 132.553 m
The central angle swept is
θ = 132.553/91.5 = 1.4487 rad

From the vector diagram, the change in velocity is (from the Law of Cosines)
Δv² = v²(1 - 2 cosФ)
where Ф = Π - 1.4487 = 1.6929 rad
Δv² = 0.2569²[1 - 2*(-0.1218)] = 0.0821
Δv = 0.2865 m/s

The acceleration is
a₁ = (0.2865 m/s)/(516 s) = 5.6 x 10⁻⁴ m/s²

The actual centripetal acceleration is directed toward the center of the wheel, and its value is
a = v²/r = 0.2569²/91.5 = 7.2 x 10⁻⁴ m/s²

 
a = 7.2 x 10⁻⁴ m/s², the centripetal acceleration acting toward the center of the wheel.
The magnitude of a₁ is 5.6 x 10⁻⁴ m/s², but it is not directed toward the center of the wheel.