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View Full Version : Help....glider on an airtrack problem


physics_challenged
Sep24-04, 10:13 AM
In the physics laboratory, a glider is released from rest on a frictionless air track inclined at an angle similar to the one shown in the figure below . If the glider has gained a speed of 24 cm/s in traveling 50 cm from the starting point, what was the angle of inclination of the track?

Ok, what I have done is I figured out the acceleration to be 5.76. Would that be correct? And now I am having trouble trying to get the angle...I am not sure what to do. Please help. :frown:

Ba
Sep24-04, 01:03 PM
5.76 cm/s^2 is the acceleration if the speed is the ending speed not the speed over time. The way I would find the angle from there is to find the weight of the glider and use the force of gravity and the horizontal force to get the angle using a tangent

Doc Al
Sep25-04, 07:01 AM
Ok, what I have done is I figured out the acceleration to be 5.76.
Right, the acceleration is 5.76 cm/s^2 (or 0.0576 m/s^2).
And now I am having trouble trying to get the angle...I am not sure what to do.
What's the component of the weight along the track? (Draw a diagram; express the force along the track in terms of the angle--using a little trig.) Then apply F = ma, using what you calculated as the acceleration along the track. Then solve for the angle.