How Do You Model Building Sway with Trigonometric Functions?

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Homework Help Overview

The discussion revolves around modeling the sway of a building using trigonometric functions. The original poster describes a scenario where the building sways 55 cm to the right in 5 seconds and 55 cm to the left in 35 seconds, seeking to formulate an equation to represent this motion.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Conceptual clarification, Mathematical reasoning

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • Participants explore the nature of the motion, questioning whether it involves translational or rotational kinematics. There are discussions about the amplitude, phase shift, and the need for reliable mathematical resources. Some participants also question the clarity and precision of the original question.

Discussion Status

The conversation is ongoing, with participants providing insights into the problem's requirements and discussing the implications of the parameters involved. Some guidance has been offered regarding the amplitude and the timing of the sway, but no consensus has been reached on the approach to modeling the motion.

Contextual Notes

There are mentions of potential errors in the original poster's textbook, which may affect their understanding of the concepts involved. Additionally, the original poster expresses uncertainty about the terminology used in their question.

runicle
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this is my question:
A Building sways 55cm to the right from origin in 5 seconds and 55 cm to the left of the origin in 35 seconds. And i am supposed to write an eqaution to define this.

I'm guessing the is no amplitude no vertical translation and since it's sine basically I am going to need some help...

Does anyone have any resources of GOOOD LIABLE EASY TO FOLLOW MATH SKILLS? My book Nelson Mathematics 11 with the rollercoaster in the front has a bunch of errors and misconceptions.
 
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runicle said:
Does anyone have any resources of GOOOD LIABLE EASY TO FOLLOW MATH SKILLS? My book Nelson Mathematics 11 with the rollercoaster in the front has a bunch of errors and misconceptions.

Do you mean reliable?(not sure how liable comes into play)

What concepts are you looking for and maybe we can show you a link to one online. Also see what your book says and maybe it is actually correct and you aren't grasping the concept.

I find it unlikely that your instructor would give you a book with multiple errors and "misconceptions".
 
It's a very weird question. I think you are looking for rotational kinematics here, as there is no translational motion. Why don't you express angular displacement as a function of time? In any case, the question seems too imprecise and vaugue to be a physics question to me.
 
First off its supposed to be solved using trigonometry and i figured out the question to today. Please note Key words like "guessing".
 
runicle said:
this is my question:
A Building sways 55cm to the right from origin in 5 seconds and 55 cm to the left of the origin in 35 seconds. And i am supposed to write an eqaution to define this.

I'm guessing the is no amplitude no vertical translation and since it's sine basically I am going to need some help...

Does anyone have any resources of GOOOD LIABLE EASY TO FOLLOW MATH SKILLS? My book Nelson Mathematics 11 with the rollercoaster in the front has a bunch of errors and misconceptions.
I'm not sure I'm clear on what you're saying. You definitely have an amplitude - 55 cm. You also have 30 seconds between the positive peak and negative peak (which is which depends on whether you decide 'right' is positive or negative). You also have a phase shift, since the building should sway left and right at the same rate.
 

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