Ant's Path on Revolving Disc: Calculating Displacement and Path Length

  • Thread starter Thread starter omc1
  • Start date Start date
  • Tags Tags
    Disc Edge
AI Thread Summary
An ant on the edge of a 14.80 cm radius record revolves through an angle of 70.0 degrees, leading to a calculated path length of 0.181 m. However, the ant's displacement calculation proved challenging, with multiple incorrect attempts using trigonometric functions. The discussion highlights the need to properly analyze the geometry of the situation, suggesting the use of right triangles to find the displacement. A mistake was identified in the application of the tangent function, emphasizing the importance of correctly identifying triangle sides. Ultimately, the participant was able to recognize their error and seek clarification for accurate calculations.
omc1
Messages
100
Reaction score
0

Homework Statement

An ant positioned on the very edge of a Beatles record that is 14.80 cm in radius revolves through an angle of 70.0o as the disk turns. What is the ant's path length?
What is the magnitude of the ant's displacement?



Homework Equations

L=Rtheta



The Attempt at a Solution


i was able to find the path length to 0.181 m and that's right but i can't find the displacement which seems like it should be easy...i used c^2=a^2+b^2 but that didnt work then i used costheta that didnt work so i used s=rtheta and that didnt work so ...please help, thanks
 
Physics news on Phys.org
This gives you an isosceles triangle with two known sides and the angle between them also known ... how hard can it be ? Divide it into two right triangles and go from there.
 
i did that and CAPA is still rejecting my answer...
 
omc1 said:
i did that and CAPA is still rejecting my answer...

Why don't you write out, in full, one of your attempts so that we can see what might be going wrong?
 
i did radius times tan35 equal the opposite leg then multiply by two ...207
 
omc1 said:
i did radius times tan35 equal the opposite leg then multiply by two ...207

Ah, but I don't see that expression being correct. The radius is not the adjacent leg of the triangle.
 
ic i found my mistake, thanks!
 
Back
Top