What have I done wrong? (torque and angular momentum)

AI Thread Summary
The discussion revolves around solving a physics problem involving torque and angular momentum related to a billiard ball hit by a cue. The user initially derived an incorrect expression for the height "h" at which the ball rolls without slipping, mistakenly including mass squared in the final equation. Through feedback, the user was encouraged to re-evaluate their application of Newton's second law and perform dimensional analysis to verify their calculations. After revisiting the steps, the user successfully corrected their expression for height. The final solution was confirmed as accurate, resolving the initial confusion.
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[SOLVED] What have I done wrong? (torque and angular momentum)

Homework Statement


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A billiardball is hit from rest by the cue at height "h" from the table with a force F in the time interval Δt. The mass M and radius R of the ball is known as well as the moment of inertia which is I=\frac{2}{5}MR^2
Find an expression for the height "h" at which the billiardball will roll without slipping when it is hit.


Homework Equations


Condition for roll with no slipping:
v_{CM}=R\omega


The Attempt at a Solution


I start by finding an expression for v_{cm}.

Center of mass differentiated by Δt gives:
v_{CM}=\frac{Mv}{M}=v


Newton's 2nd law:
F=M\frac{v}{Δt}

Isolating velocity gives:
v=MFΔt

Since the velocity is equal to the velocity of the center of mass:
v_{CM}=MFΔt

Now I find an expression for the angular velocity.

The net torque is given by:
∑τ=Iα

The only force is the force F from the cue which gives the torque τ=F(h-R) where (h-R) is the perpendicular length from the force F to the center of mass of the ball.
F(h-R)=I\frac{\omega}{Δt}

The angular velocity is:
\omega=\frac{F(h-R)Δt}{I}

Now I insert the velocity of CM and the angular velocity into the rolling without slip equation:
MFΔt=R\frac{F(h-R)Δt}{I}

And I end up with:
h=R(2/5M^2+1)

But my expression for the height has the mass squared in it. What did I do wrong?
 
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PhyIsOhSoHard said:
Newton's 2nd law:
F=M\frac{v}{Δt}

Isolating velocity gives:
v=MFΔt
Try that step again.
(Do you know how to do dimensional analysis? That's a very useful way to sanity-check an equation.)
 
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haruspex said:
Try that step again.
(Do you know how to do dimensional analysis? That's a very useful way to sanity-check an equation.)

That's it! Now the answer is correct, thanks! :)
 
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