Rotational Energy and Pulley System

GoldShadow
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Homework Statement


Problem reads:
The pulley in the figure has radius 0.160 m and a moment of inertia 0.480 kgm^2. The rope does not slip on the pulley rim. Use energy methods to calculate the speed of the 4.00-kg block just before it strikes the floor.
YF-09-36.jpg

Homework Equations


[tex]E=\frac{1}{2}I\omega^{2}+m_{1}gh_{1}+m_{2}gh_{2}[/tex]

[tex]E_{initial}=E_{final}[/tex]

[tex]v=\omega r[/tex]

The Attempt at a Solution


I said [tex]m_{1}[/tex] was the 4.00 kg block and [tex]m_{2}[/tex] was the 2.00 kg block. Setting the initial and final energies of the system equal, I got:

[tex]m_{1}gh_{10}+m_{2}gh_{20}+\frac{1}{2}I\omega^{2}_{0}=m_{1}gh_{1}+m_{2}gh_{2}+\frac{1}{2}I\omega^{2}[/tex]

Since initial angular momentum is zero and so is the height of block 2, and in the final state, height of block 2 is zero, this simplifies to:

[tex]m_{1}gh_{10}=m_{2}gh_{2}+\frac{1}{2}I\omega^{2}[/tex]

Plugging in numbers:
[tex](4.00)(9.8)(5.00)=(2.00)(9.8)(5.00)+\frac{1}{2}(0.480)\omega^{2}[/tex]

I got [tex]\omega=20.21 rad/s[/tex]. Then using [tex]v=\omega r[/tex] I just plugged in the radius and the angular velocity I just found to get v=3.23 m/s

This is not the right answer according to the homework website unfortunately... help would be appreciated!
 
Last edited:
on Phys.org
You are forgetting that not all of the kinetic energy is in the pulley. The blocks have some too.
 
Alright, I added the kinetic energy into the equation (kept the left side the same since kinetic energy is 0 for both blocks when they're at rest) and solved for v:

[tex]m_{1}gh_{10}=m_{2}gh_{2}+\frac{1}{2}I\omega^{2}+\frac{1}{2}m_{1}v^{2}+\frac{1}{2}m_{2}v^{2}[/tex]

Using [tex]v=\omega r[/tex] and isolating [tex]\omega[/tex] and substituting that into the equation, I got 5.71 m/s.

But it still says this is wrong... how do I go about getting the right answer?
 
You are doing everything right and your presentation of this problem is super clear, good job. But if I put the numbers into your equation I don't get what you get for v. Are you just punching in numbers wrong?
 
Ah alright, I got it (v=2.81 m/s)... it turns out I did punch in a wrong number somewhere, I hate it when I do that, heh.

Anyway, thank you for the help Dick, I really appreciate it!
 
That's what I get as well. Like I say, I wish all posters presented stuff this well.
 

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