Circular rotational motion (kinematics)

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Homework Help Overview

The problem involves a wheel that accelerates from rest to a specified angular velocity and then decelerates to a stop, with a total number of revolutions given. The subject area is kinematics, specifically focusing on rotational motion and angular acceleration.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Assumption checking, Problem interpretation

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • The original poster attempts to calculate the total time of rotation by breaking the problem into intervals of acceleration and deceleration, using angular kinematics equations. Some participants question the conversion of units and the calculations related to angular velocity and acceleration.

Discussion Status

The discussion is ongoing, with the original poster seeking confirmation of their calculations and questioning the accuracy of the provided answer in the textbook. There are indications of potential errors in the textbook, as one participant suggests a possible typo regarding the duration of the braking period.

Contextual Notes

Participants are working under the assumption that the total number of revolutions and the time intervals provided are accurate, but there is uncertainty regarding the braking time specified in the problem statement.

dunn
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Homework Statement



A wheel starts from rest and accelerates uniformly to 200rpm in 6s. After it has been rotating for some time at this speed, the brakes are applied and it takes 5 minutes to stop the wheel. If the total number of revolutions is 3100, calculate the total time of rotation.

Homework Equations



α = dω/dt
ω = dθ/dt

The Attempt at a Solution



Okay, so I need to calculate the number of rotations it completes in the first interval (between 0 and 6 seconds). I have the final angular velocity (ω) at the end of the first interval, so I need to find the angular acceleration (α) in order to calculate the number of radians (θ).

Since α is uniform, I integrate α = dω/dt and derive the following:

α(t-t0) = ω - ω0 (1)

Since t0 and ω0 = 0 at the start, I have:

α(t) = ω

At t = 6 and with ω = 8π/3 rad/s (200rpm), my angular acceleration α = 4π/9 rad/s2

Now I have ω = dθ/dt so α(t-t0) = ω - ω0 becomes:

α(t-t0) + ω0 = dθ/dt

Integrating this yields:

1/2α(t-t0)2 + ω0(t-t0) = θ - θ0 (2)

Putting in the relevant values (t = 6, α = 4π/9, ω0 = 0) I obtain θ = 8π rad or 4 rotations.

Now I need to calculate the last interval when the brakes are applied. Using equation (1) I obtain an angular acceleration α = -8π/900 rad/s2.

Now I put the relevant information into equation 2 (t = 300, ω0 = 8π/3 rad/s, α = -8π/900 rad/s2 I get θ = 400π or 200 rotations.

Since the wheel rotates 3100 times in total, I subtract the rotations from the first and last interval to obtain 3100 - 200 - 4 = 2198 rotations that occur during the middle interval. Since 2198 rotations = 5792 radians and ω is constant, I can integrate ω = dθ/dt to obtain:

ω(t-t0) = θ - θ0

or, more relevantly:

ωt = θ

Since I know ω and θ I divide 5792 rad by 8π/3 rad/s and get 691.4 seconds. Adding the times from the other intervals (6s and 300s) I get a total time of 997.4 seconds or ~16.62 minutes.

The problem is that the book says the answer should be 15.6 minutes. That would mean that the wheel would complete 3120 rotations in 15.6 minutes if it started at its full speed of 200rpm and never slowed down. That simply doesn't seem right.

I want to be sure that this is just an error in the book, so I'm posting this here in the hope that someone can look over my work and make sure I did everything correctly. Am I doing something wrong or is this just a typo?
 
Physics news on Phys.org
200 rpm = 200*2π/60 rad/s = ...?
 
rl.bhat said:
200 rpm = 200*2π/60 rad/s = ...?

:redface: I hate calculators that can't do fractions...

Thank you!
 
Well, after playing with the problem more I came to the conclusion that there is in fact a typo in the book. The brakes are supposed to be applied for a total of 5 seconds, not 5 minutes. My initial math was wrong but this was further complicated by the fact that my correct math was rendering the wrong answer because the book has (yet another!) typo. I need a new book. :cry:
 

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