Why is My Calculation of Force on the Door Incorrect?

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The forum discussion centers on a physics problem involving the calculation of force required to rotate a large door with a mass of 44,000 kg and a rotational inertia of 8.7 x 104 kg·m2. The user SEG9585 initially calculated the force as 304.5 N, but the correct answer is 130 N. The error stemmed from a misunderstanding of the relationship between radians and the radius when calculating angular displacement.

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SEG9585
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Hey all--
Can someone try to ifnd what I'm doing wrong with this question, I must have sort of brain lapse in the middle of a 4-day weekend and all:

Question: A (very large) door has a mass of 44,000kg, and a rotational inertia about a vertical axis through its hingesof 8.7*10^4 kg*m^2, and has a front face of 2.4m. NEglecting friction, what steady force perpendicular to the door can move it from rest through an angle of 90 degrees in 30s?

My incorrect solution: ("@" refers to the angle in radian measure), and "&" refers to angular acceleration)

@ = 2(pi)*r/4 @=2.4(pi)/2 radians

@ = .5(&)(t^2)
1.2(pi) = .5(&)(30^2)
& = .0084 rad/s^2

I(&) = r x F = rFsin90
(8.7*10^4)(.0084) = (2.4)(F)(1)
F= 304.5 N

However, the actual answer is apparently 130N. What did I do wrong?
 
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Originally posted by SEG9585
However, the actual answer is apparently 130N. What did I do wrong?
How many radians in 90 degrees?
 
hah oops...yeah i knew i had a brain fart there (thinks all the way back to trig)
of course...radians don't change proportionally to radius...duhhh
Thanks Doc
 
Last edited:

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