Vector triangle in circular motion??

[CossieG]

Say we have a car turning around a corner...

Velocity is tangential to the circumference of the circle, and centripetal force/friction is towards the centre of the circle.

So what vector joins those two as the hypotenuse of the triangle?? Is it the normal reaction?? Or am i thinking about this in the wrong way??

[SocialRhubarb]

Okay, so the velocity of the car isn't a force. It's, well, a velocity.

We can't really 'add' the velocity of the car to the frictional force because the velocity isn't a force while a frictional force clearly is. Hence, we can't really add them to make sides of a triangle, because they're completely different quantities.

Secondly, we can't really add the force vectors together to show that the net force is 0 in this scenario because the net force isn't 0. There is always a force acting towards the centre of the car's circular path, providing the acceleration to keep the car turning in a circle.

Note: I reread my response and thought I should probably point I'm not mocking you in any way. This is just how I talk. : )