Linear acceleration and rotational motion

In summary, the problem involves a stunt in an action-adventure film where the hero must safely drop off a 20.0-m-tall building and land on the ground with a final vertical speed of 4.00 m/s. To achieve this, the 50.0-kg stuntman ties a rope around his waist and walks off the roof, using a 100-kg drum with a radius of 0.500 m and a moment of inertia I as a counterweight. The linear acceleration of the stuntman can be determined using the equations T-mg = -ma and τ = Tr = Iσ = I(a/r), which results in a= (mg)/(m+(I/r^2)). This solution involves
  • #1
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Homework Statement



You are the technical consultant for an action-adventure film in which a stunt calls for the hero to drop off a 20.0-m-tall building and land on the ground safely at a final vertical speed of 4.00 m/s. At the edge of the building’s roof, there is a 100-kg drum that is wound with a sufficiently long rope (of negligible mass), has a radius of 0.500 m, and is free to rotate about its cylindrical axis with a moment of inertia I. The script calls for the 50.0-kg stuntman to tie the rope around his waist and walk off the roof.

a.Determine an expression for the stuntman’s linear acceleration in terms of his mass m, the drum’s radius r, and moment of inertia I.

The Attempt at a Solution



So far I'm unable to find an adequate relationship for part a.
So far I have: T-mg =-ma and τ = Tr = Iσ = I[itex]\frac{a}{r}[/itex], where σ is the angular acceleration, T is the tension, and τ is the torque caused by the tension.
Now if I combine these equations for tension I obtain an expression in terms of g (which doesn't belong as indicated by the question).
Any ideas what I'm doing wrong or neglecting?
 
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  • #2
Even though g is not mentioned in the question, your answer will involve g.
 
  • #3
TSny said:
Even though g is not mentioned in the question, your answer will involve g.
Then I would obtain a= [itex]\frac{mg}{m+\frac{I}{r^{2}}}[/itex]
Could you maybe comment on the validity of this statement..?
(I'm not sure my two initial equations are valid --mainly the signs)
 
  • #4
Your result looks correct.
 
  • #5
Thanks.
And I just had another quick question, another part of the question asks to calculate the moment of inertia of the drum about its axis. Now the question doesn't seem to give us a formula for moment of inertia, so naturally I believe I would calculate it from the above equation after finding the linear acceleration from a = [itex]\frac{v^{2}}{2h}[/itex] where v = 4 m/s and h = 20 m. Would this be the right approach or can one determine the moment of inertia of the drum in another way?
 
  • #6
Yes, that's the way to do it.
 
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1. What is linear acceleration?

Linear acceleration is the rate of change of an object's velocity in a straight line. It is measured in units of distance per time squared (e.g. meters per second squared).

2. How is linear acceleration related to force?

According to Newton's Second Law of Motion, the acceleration of an object is directly proportional to the net force acting on it and inversely proportional to its mass. This means that a larger force will result in a greater linear acceleration, while a larger mass will result in a smaller linear acceleration.

3. What is rotational motion?

Rotational motion is the movement of an object around an axis or pivot point. This type of motion is characterized by the rotation of an object at a constant speed or with a constant angular velocity.

4. What is the difference between linear acceleration and angular acceleration?

Linear acceleration refers to the change in an object's linear velocity, while angular acceleration refers to the change in an object's angular velocity. Angular acceleration is measured in units of radians per second squared.

5. How is rotational motion related to torque?

According to Newton's Second Law for Rotational Motion, the angular acceleration of an object is directly proportional to the net torque applied to it and inversely proportional to its moment of inertia. This means that a larger torque will result in a greater angular acceleration, while a larger moment of inertia will result in a smaller angular acceleration.

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