How to Find a Gymnast's Speed at the Bottom of a Swing?

[djherse]

Another Fine Gymnist problem ...

A gymnist is swinging on a high bar. The distance between his waist and the bar is 1.0 m, as the drawing shows.


At the top of the swing his speed is momentarily zero. ignoring friction and treating the gymnist as if all his mass is located at his waist, find his speed at the bottom of the swing.

I know it must have something to do with The conservation of mechanical energy however I am not sure how to set up both sides of the equation ? my algebra is a little ruff... I an lost here i know some stuff must cancell out but what ? it all can't cancell out Mass must cancell because it is not given to you but what else?

 

[djherse]

bump...

On a side note my class is part of a physicis without lectures trial at me school we are the second class to be subjected to this new teaching style and it is horiable. We have Zero lectures and are told to determine equations on our own... the teacher will only answer questions we have. Our entire 3 hour class is spent working in a poorly written workbook...

 

[PhanthomJay]

A gymnist is swinging on a high bar. The distance between his waist and the bar is 1.0 m, as the drawing shows.


At the top of the swing his speed is momentarily zero. ignoring friction and treating the gymnist as if all his mass is located at his waist, find his speed at the bottom of the swing.

I know it must have something to do with The conservation of mechanical energy however I am not sure how to set up both sides of the equation ? my algebra is a little ruff... I an lost here i know some stuff must cancell out but what ? it all can't cancell out Mass must cancell because it is not given to you but what else?

What does the drawing show as his start point at the top of the swing, relative to the bottom of the swing? His speed at the bottom depends on how high up he starts.