Because of the conditions that give rise to them, tornadoes do not have
the widespread destructive effects of hurricanes. Nevertheless, the
winds encountered in some tornadoes are even greater than those at
the eyewall of a hurricane. Suppose a small pebble is swept up in a tor-
nado. The pebble is 3.81 m from the center of the tornado and has a
tangential speed equal to that of the surrounding wind: 124 m/s. What
is the magnitude of the centripetal acceleration of the pebble?