Rotational dynamics and coefficient of friction

Join the discussion
Registration is free. Ask a follow-up in this thread, or start your own.
2 replies · 2K views
squintyeyes
Messages
44
Reaction score
0
How do you find the minimum coefficient of friction needed to prevent slipping for part a and part b.


A hollow spherical shell of mass 4.00 kg rolls without slipping down a 38.0° slope.

(a) Find the acceleration.
3.62 m/s2
Find the friction force.
9.64 N
Find the minimum coefficient of friction needed to prevent slipping.

(b) How would your answers to part (a) change if the mass were doubled to 8.00 kg?
Acceleration
3.62 m/s2
Friction force
19.31 N
Coefficient of friction


for part a I already tried setting mgsinθ-μmgcosθ = 0
and got 0.781 but it was wrong.
 
Physics news on Phys.org
If you're looking for a coefficient of friction that will prevent slipping then the object won't move at all. This sounds a lot to me like static friction.

EDIT: I think I'm confused with what you mean by slipping, can you elaborate a litte bit?
 
If you've already found the frictional force, you just need to find the normal force between the shell and the surface and then solve the formula:
[tex]F_{friction,max}={\mu}N[/tex]