Acylinder of diameter 100 mm rolls from restdown a 5 m long ramp and its center of mass is moving with velocity 2 m/s at the bottom of the ramp. (a) what is its (constant) acceleration down the ramp? (b) what is its angular acceleration?

(a): a = 0.4m/s²

(b): α = 8 radians/s²

Explanation:

First we propose an equation to determine the linear acceleration and an equation to determine the space traveled in the ramp (5m):

a= (Vf-Vi)/t = (2m/s)/t

a: linear acceleration.

Vf: speed at the end of the ramp.

Vi: speed at the beginning of the ramp (zero).

d= (1/2)×a×t² = 5m

d: distance of the ramp (5m).

We replace the first equation in the second to determine the travel time on the ramp:

d = 5m = (1/2)×( (2m/s)/t)×t² = (1m/s)×t ⇒ t = 5s

And the linear acceleration will be:

a = (2m/s)/5s = 0.4m/s²

Now we determine the perimeter of the cylinder to know the linear distance traveled on the ramp in a revolution:

perimeter = π×diameter = π×0.1m = 0.3142m

To determine the angular acceleration we divide the linear acceleration by the radius of the cylinder:

α = (0.4m/s²)/(0.05m) = 8 radians/s²

α: angular aceleration.

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