Re: AP PROBLEM

[Leigh Palmer <palmer@SFU.CA>]

> Any help would be appreciated, it has been a while since I have done
> this type of problem.

It is best to think of this problem in the accelerated frame.
It is equivalent to the problem of a rod pivoted at one end
and suspended initially at rest at an acute angle theta with
respect to the vertical. How long does the rod require to
reach the vertical if the gravitational acceleration is a,
the same magnitude as the acceleration of the car?

The solution to this problem involves elliptic integrals, but
a good approximation can be had if theta is small. It is then
a physical pendulum, and the time is well known to be
independent of the initial angle theta.

Leigh