PHYS 2210 — Fall 2015 GA14 Problem 1 Rotating Tip In the Physics 2210 Laboratory ono group of students has decided to pursue their own experiments. They make asimple pendulum from a. weight attached to a tring of length L. ‘They attach the other end of the string to a fixed support. ‘They hold the weight with the string taut and horizontal and then released it. With their motion sensor they measure the speod of the woight as the string passes through the vertical. Remembering that all objects fall with the same acceleration, the students do a second experiment. They attach one end of a uniform stick of length Z to the support, which acts as a pivot. They hold the stick horizontal and release it. ‘They then measure the speed of the tip of the stick with their motion sensor. Do they measure the same speed? Solutions I. Understand the Problem: A simple pendulum that is held taught with one end fixed is released from a particular height. Given that the center of mass is atthe end of string with the other end fixed, find the maximum speed the pendulum achieves. Compare this value to the speed of a uniform stick of equal length that is allowed to pivot at one end and is realeased from the same initial height. IL. Describe the Physics: “The pendulums are rotating about a fixed axis and acted on only by gravity. We are told that the pendulums are held horizontal when released and both share an equal length, however, the simple pendulum has its center of mass concentrated at the opposite end of the axis of rotation, where the physical pendulum is uniform in mass throughout its length. Ifwe treat both cases with conservation of energy, where gravitational energy becomes rotational energy, we will be able to determine the maximum speed in each case. In the simple pendulum case, we can set the gravitational potential energy to the kinetic energy and solve for velocity. For the physical pendulum, we can relate the gravitational potential energy to the stick rotational energy giving us a final angular velocity we can then relate to a translational speed. IIL. Plan the Solution: ‘The speed of the simple pendulum can be found using conservation of energy relating the following: Kt U= Keb UrK,=0;U=0 ‘The gravitational potential energy is given by Mgh and the kinetic energy is given by 1/2(Mv"). Mgh = (Mv?)/2 ‘The speed of the physical pendulum can be found by using consrevation of energy by relating gravitational potential energy to rotational kinetic energy. Kt Uj= Ket Ur Ki=0;U;=0 ‘We can use the work-energy theorem to help us solve the problem. ‘The net work is the change in kinetic energy. We = W2(leng (07) ~ 1/2 (Tena 087) ‘The rotational inertia of a rod with the axis at its end is given by Ios = MI#/3, We can also relate the translational velocity to the angular velocity by the following: v=wr ‘Where ris the length of axis rotating, I. IV. Execute the Solution: Using the above relations, we can find two equations of translational velocity for the given pendulums. Simple Physi ealEvaluate the Solution ‘The simple pendulum has a translational speed of (2gL)!” where the physical pendulum's speed at the tip is (3gL)"”, Setting these two equal, itis clear that the physical pendulum has a greater speed at the tip than the simple pendulum: (3)}> (2)!. This makes sense because gravity is acting on the center of mass of both pendulums, where the simple's is concentrated at its end giving it a longer period which gives a slower speed ata given length. For the physical pendulum, since the center of mass is located at half the length, its period is shorter, which causes the tip be faster. Problem 2 Yo? ‘Ayo-yo has mass M and outer radius R, ‘The central stem has mass m and radius r and string of negligible mass is wrapped around it. The string is taut and held vertically and the yo-yo is released from rest. How long does it take for the yo-yo to fully unwrap the string, which has length L? Solution I. Understand the Problem: A yo-yo is released with the string attached to a fixed point h above the ground. Given the radius of the yo-yo, radius of the central axis, and mass, find how long it takes for the yo-yo to unwind and hit the ground under the influance of gravity. Il. Describe the Physics: First we assume the string is massless and has no thickness (it does not change the central axis radius). When released, the tension in the string casued by the force of gravity, causes a torque oon the yo-yo which causes it to unwind, giving the system a translational & rotational acceleration, IIL, Plan the Solution: ‘To find the translational accel, we can create a net force equation. Fee ['-Mg=MaFrom there, we can relate the torque caused by tension to the angular accleration of the yo-yo. t=rxBr] F cok Where Fis the force of tension. t= dLfdt = I dw/dt = la = Tae T= Ialt® ‘We need to recall the moment of inertia of a cylinder rotating about its central axis, and thet the string has negligable mass with no thickness. We can relate the angular acceleration of teh central stem to translational acceleration by the radius r. Once obtained, we can obtain the time by relating the acceleration to a given height, h, by kinematics. IV. Execute the Solution: Using the above equations, find the translational acceleration and use that to find the time _ required to fll by using kinematics. fron Kinewabice: hehtuergae? 5 hyzOzhis tag, Pais Neg, h=ka® t =fbg, V. Evaluate the Solution: ‘The time it takes the yo-yo to strike the ground is dependant on the initial height (which, makes sense), the radius of the cylinder, and the radius of the central stem. If we consideredthis in terms of energy, it makes sense that if the cylinder is larger, it will take a larger share of the total energy given by the gravitational potential energy that is being split between the translational kinetic energy and rotational kinetic energy. In other words, ifthe cylinder is, larger, it takes more energy rotate the yo-yo slowing down how fast it falls translationally However, if the cylinder is decreased to the limit of 0, we get a time that is equel to the time of drop it takes any falling object where gravity is the only influance (as expected). If we consider the central stem, as it gets larger, the torque on the yo-yo also increases causing it to spin faster and in-effect, decreasing the time necessary to hit the ground. If we decrease the radius, we decrease the torque and rotational velocity which increases the time.