Kinetic Energy on Incline Objects: Cylinder, Sphere, Hoop, All Same?

  • Thread starter Thread starter UrbanXrisis
  • Start date Start date
  • Tags Tags
    Confusion Physics
AI Thread Summary
The discussion centers on the kinetic energy of different objects (cylinder, sphere, hoop) rolling down an incline, concluding that they all have the same kinetic energy at the bottom despite differences in rotational kinetic energy. The sphere, while having the least rotational kinetic energy, still ends up with the same total kinetic energy as the others due to energy conservation principles. In a separate scenario involving a cannon and a ball, the center of mass of the system remains unchanged after firing, even though the cannon and ball do not have equal momentum due to their opposite directions. The conversation emphasizes the importance of understanding momentum as a vector quantity and the conservation of energy in these contexts. Overall, the principles of kinetic energy and momentum conservation are key to resolving the questions raised.
UrbanXrisis
Messages
1,192
Reaction score
1
Which on the following objects has the least kinetic energy at the bottom of the incline if they have the same mass and radius:
A) cylinder
B) sphere
C) hoop
D) all have the same

I piced B but the answer is D. My question is, the sphere has the least rotational kinetic energy, which means it will roll slowly, making it's kinetic energy less than the hoop or cylinder. I don't understand how they can all have the same kinetic energy when the hoop has a greater rotational kinetic energy.

When a ball is fired from a cannon wth a mass much greater than that of the ball, which of the following is true?

The answer is "The center of mass of the system remains unchanged." I picked "The ball and the cannon have equal momentum after the ball is fired"
I picked this because if the cannon and ball represents an elastic collision. I don't see why my answer isn't valid.
 
Physics news on Phys.org
The first answer is D because the center of mass of each shape dropped the same heighth, so each acquired the same amount of kinetic energy.

Technically, the cannon and the ball don't have the same momentum. Momentum is a vector. But as long as you understand that the center of mass does remain the same you aren't too far wrong. And yes if the cannon and ball conserve momentum, neglecting the gunpowder/gases of course.
 
for #1, how can one object gain more velocity than the other while keeping the energy balanced?

for #2, when the cannon fires the ball, the cannon repels backwards keeping the same momentum that it gave the ball. If this was false and momentum was not conserved, then I don't see how the center of mass can be conserved.
 
#1 Conservation of Energy. Energy acquired from g*m*delta h = rotational + translational kinetic energy.

#2 The "momentum of cannon and ball are equal" is a trick answer. The magnitudes are equal, yes. But momentum is a vector, and two vectors aren't equal unless both magnitude and direction are equal. These are opposite. So the aren't equal.

The CoM is conserved.
 
Kindly see the attached pdf. My attempt to solve it, is in it. I'm wondering if my solution is right. My idea is this: At any point of time, the ball may be assumed to be at an incline which is at an angle of θ(kindly see both the pics in the pdf file). The value of θ will continuously change and so will the value of friction. I'm not able to figure out, why my solution is wrong, if it is wrong .
TL;DR Summary: I came across this question from a Sri Lankan A-level textbook. Question - An ice cube with a length of 10 cm is immersed in water at 0 °C. An observer observes the ice cube from the water, and it seems to be 7.75 cm long. If the refractive index of water is 4/3, find the height of the ice cube immersed in the water. I could not understand how the apparent height of the ice cube in the water depends on the height of the ice cube immersed in the water. Does anyone have an...
Thread 'A bead-mass oscillatory system problem'
I can't figure out how to find the velocity of the particle at 37 degrees. Basically the bead moves with velocity towards right let's call it v1. The particle moves with some velocity v2. In frame of the bead, the particle is performing circular motion. So v of particle wrt bead would be perpendicular to the string. But how would I find the velocity of particle in ground frame? I tried using vectors to figure it out and the angle is coming out to be extremely long. One equation is by work...
Back
Top