Question

Your Lead Teaching Assistant is initially seated on the top of a hemispherical ice mound of radius R = 30 m. Approximate the ice as being frictionless. He begins to slide down the ice with a negligible initial speed. At what height does the TA lose contact with the ice?

Answer 1

Answer:

Height = 5.65 km

Explanation:

$3\pi r^2$ is the circumference or we can say measures the boundary of hemisphere of friction-less ice that he is sitting on.

So, the height will be = 2 x 3.14 x (30)^2 = 5654.7 m = 5.65 km

Answer 2

Answer:

Height at which lead assistant will lose the contact with ice = h = 20 m

Explanation:

The height at which the lead assistant will lose the contact with the ice can be found using the following formula:

                          h = 2R/3   ……… (i)

Where R is the radius of the hemisphere. So,

                          h = 2(30)/3

                          h = 2(10)

                          h = 20 m

Hence, the lead assistant will lose the contact with the ice at the height of 20 m.