Angular acceleration of a cylinder?

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Homework Help Overview

The discussion revolves around determining the angular acceleration of a cylinder rolling down an inclined plane, which is connected to a block over a pulley. The original poster has calculated the linear acceleration and seeks guidance on how to relate this to angular acceleration.

Discussion Character

  • Conceptual clarification, Mathematical reasoning, Problem interpretation

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • Participants discuss the relationship between linear and angular acceleration, with some suggesting the formula α = a/r. There are questions regarding the moment of inertia for the cylinder and its implications for the calculations. The original poster expresses uncertainty about the units of angular acceleration and whether the calculated values seem reasonable.

Discussion Status

Participants have provided insights into the relationships between linear and angular quantities, with some clarifying the correct use of equations and units. There is an ongoing exploration of the implications of different cylinder sizes on angular acceleration, but no consensus has been reached on the final approach.

Contextual Notes

The original poster has provided specific values for linear acceleration and radius, but there may be assumptions about the conditions of rolling without slipping that are under discussion.

khfrekek92
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Homework Statement



After some long calculations, I found that the linear acceleration of a cylinder on an inclined plane (attached to a block over a pulley on another inclined plane) was 8.76238 m/s^2. How do I find the angular acceleration of this rolling cylinder?


Homework Equations



I[omega]=mR^2[omega] maybe?

The Attempt at a Solution



I literally have no idea how to finish this problem.. Thanks in advance for any help!
 
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if the cylinder is rolling without slipping, then the angular acceleration is equal to the linear acceleration divided by the radius of the cylinder.

cheers
 
khfrekek92 said:

Homework Equations



I[omega]=mR^2[omega] maybe?

Isn't the moment of inertia for a cylinder rotating around ax axis through its length 1/2 mr2 (or am I misremembering?). If so the equation you suggest cannot be correct.

You might make use of
a= r \alpha
where a is the tangential acceleration of a point on the circumference. Do you have the information to find that? Perhaps from the distance and time, if there is no slipping?

How about \tau=I\alpha and \tau=rF?
 
Fewmet said:
Isn't the moment of inertia for a cylinder rotating around ax axis through its length 1/2 mr2 (or am I misremembering?). If so the equation you suggest cannot be correct.

You might make use of
a= r \alpha
where a is the tangential acceleration of a point on the circumference. Do you have the information to find that? Perhaps from the distance and time, if there is no slipping?

How about \tau=I\alpha and \tau=rF?

Are you planning to find torque then angelar acceleration? ... that is surely not a good method
a = \alpha r is perfectly correct

its just a derived eqn from s = \theta r ... here s is linear displacement ...
 
Okay so if [alpha]=a/r, I plug everything in and with r=.2m and a=5.00156 m/s^2, I get [alpha]=25.0078 s^-2. Inverse squared seconds? Is that a unit of angular acceleration? How would I get that into rad/sec^2? Just multiply it by 2[pi]? I think these angular accelerations are too high for a 5m/s^2 acceleration?
 
no need to multiply be 2 pi
rad is not a dimensional unit
it is for pure numbers

angular acceleration is 25 rad/s^-2

and for your question that this looks too large for 5m/s^2 acceleration ...

consider 2 cylinders ... one of very smaller radius than other
in order to move together ... smaller one has to spin much more quickly
so even though their linear acceleration may be same ... due to small size ... smaller one will have much larger angular acceleration
 
Oh okay awesome! Thank you so so much!
 

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