How Accurate Are My Calculations for the Engine's Piston Movement?

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Homework Help Overview

The discussion revolves around the movement of a piston in a factory engine, described by a sinusoidal function. Participants are analyzing the properties of the function, including amplitude, period, maximum and minimum heights, and the number of cycles over a specified time period.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Conceptual clarification, Mathematical reasoning

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • The original poster attempts to calculate the amplitude, period, maximum and minimum heights, and the number of cycles of the piston based on the given formula. Some participants question the calculations related to the number of cycles, particularly the interpretation of the period and its impact on the total cycles in 30 minutes.

Discussion Status

Participants are actively engaging in clarifying the calculations, with some providing corrections and confirming the accuracy of other parts of the original poster's answers. There is a focus on ensuring understanding of the relationship between period and the number of cycles.

Contextual Notes

Participants are working within the constraints of the problem as posed, with specific attention to the calculations and interpretations of the sinusoidal function without additional external information.

Imperil
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A piston in a large factory engine moves up and down in a cylinder. The height, h centimeters, of the piston at t seconds is given by the formula h = 120sinPi(t)+200.

a) State the amplitude and period.
b) What are the maximum and minimum heights of the piston?
c) How many complete cycles does the piston make in 30 min?

My answers:

ai) amplitude = 120cm
aii) period = 2Pi / Pi = 2

bi) minimum height = 200cm - 120cm = 80cm
bii) maximum height = 200cm + 120cm = 320cm

c) 30m = 1800s
period = 2 cycles / s
1800 x 2 = 3600

Therefore the piston makes 3600 complete cycles in 30 minutes.

I was hoping that someone could tell me if my answers are correct? I want to make sure that I understand this properly. Thanks :)
 
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Part c looks wrong. The period is 2 seconds, which corresponds to half a cycle per second. You know that if it takes *longer* than one second to go through a complete cycle, then you will able to go through *fewer* than 1800 full cycles in 1800 seconds.
 
cepheid said:
Part c looks wrong. The period is 2 seconds, which corresponds to half a cycle per second. You know that if it takes *longer* than one second to go through a complete cycle, then you will able to go through *fewer* than 1800 full cycles in 1800 seconds.
Oops sorry about that I typed it in wrong :(

I meant the following:

c) 30m = 1800s
period = 2
1800s / 2 = 900

Therefore the piston makes 900 complete cycles in 30 minutes. Thanks for pointing that out.
 
No problem. Everything else looks good to me.
 

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