---
title: "A small test car of mass \\(0.20 \\text{ kg}\\) moves along the inside of a vertical circular track of radius \\(R = 2.5 \\text{ m}\\). Assume friction between the car and track is negligible and the acceleration due to gravity is \\(g = 10 \\text{ m/s}^2\\). What is the minimum speed the car can have at the highest point of the track without losing contact with the surface?"
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url: "https://nerd-notes.com/ubq/122124/"
date_modified: "2026-09-27T13:13:28+00:00"
---

# A small test car of mass \(0.20 \text{ kg}\) moves along the inside of a vertical circular track of radius \(R = 2.5 \text{ m}\). Assume friction between the car and track is negligible and the acceleration due to gravity is \(g = 10 \text{ m/s}^2\). What is the minimum speed the car can have at the highest point of the track without losing contact with the surface?

A small test car of mass \(0.20 \text{ kg}\) moves along the inside of a vertical circular track of radius \(R = 2.5 \text{ m}\). Assume friction between the car and track is negligible and the acceleration due to gravity is \(g = 10 \text{ m/s}^2\). What is the minimum speed the car can have at the highest point of the track without losing contact with the surface?

![A side-view diagram of a vertical circular track. A full circular ring representing the track is centered in the diagram, resting on a flat horizontal surface. A dashed radial line extends from the exact center of the circle to the top apex of the circle, labeled \(R\). At the highest point on the inner boundary of the circular ring, a small rectangular block representing the test car is positioned against the track surface. A single horizontal arrow points to the left from the center of the block, labeled \(v\). A vertical arrow points downward from the center of the circle toward the base, labeled \(g\). No other labels, lines, text, or axes appear.](https://nerd-notes.com/wp-content/uploads/ubq-frq-generated/stem-fig-1-1790514808-0TXmZ6.jpg)

- **A.** \(5.0 \text{ m/s}\)
- **B.** \(7.1 \text{ m/s}\)
- **C.** \(11 \text{ m/s}\)
- **D.** \(25 \text{ m/s}\)

*The answer key and step-by-step explanation are available to logged-in users at https://nerd-notes.com/ubq/122124/*