hi michelle! welcome to pf!
 Quote by michelle15g
I'm not sure how to use the hoop as a constraint. I can find the difference in potential energy but I can't seem to connect it to the force - only to the momentum.
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assume the hoop is
fixed, and use conservation of energy to find the bead-speed at a general angle θ
(i expect you've already done that
)
then find the acceleration of the beads,
then the
reaction force on the beads …
what do you get? 