Question

A hamster running in a wheel of radius 13 cm spins the wheel at 35 revolutions per minute.

Answer 1

One revolution is completed when a fixed point on the wheel travels a distance equal to the circumference of the wheel, which is 2π (13 cm) = 26π cm.

So we have

1 rev = 26π cm

1 rev = 2π rad

1 min = 60 s

(a) The angular velocity of the wheel is

(35 rev/min) * (2π rad/rev) * (1/60 min/s) = 7π/6 rad/s

or approximately 3.665 rad/s.

(b) The linear velocity is

(35 rev/min) * (26π cm/rev) * (1/60 min/s) = 91π/6 cm/s

or roughly 47.648 cm/s.