A student rolls these four items on the same surface and at the same speed. Which item will have the greatest kinetic energy?
1 answer:
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We can solve the problem by requiring the equilibrium of the forces and the equilibrium of torques.
1) Equilibrium of forces:
where
is the weight of the person
is the weight of the scaffold
Re-arranging, we can write the equation as
(1)
2) Equilibrium of torques:
where 3 m and 2 m are the distances of the forces from the center of mass of the scaffold.
Using
and replacing T1 with (1), we find
from which we find
And then, substituting T2 into (1), we find
1) Equilibrium of forces:
where
Re-arranging, we can write the equation as
2) Equilibrium of torques:
where 3 m and 2 m are the distances of the forces from the center of mass of the scaffold.
Using
from which we find
And then, substituting T2 into (1), we find