Rotational motion problem, half solved, can't figure out other half.

AI Thread Summary
A user initially struggled with a rotational motion problem involving a ceiling fan that coasts to a stop after being turned off. They successfully calculated the speed of the fan blade tip 10 seconds after shutdown and determined the rotational acceleration. The user faced difficulties with calculating the number of revolutions made while stopping but realized they made a simple error in using the diameter instead of the radius for circumference calculations. After correcting this mistake, they found the correct solution. The discussion highlights the importance of careful calculations in physics problems, especially in rotational motion.
Vagabond7
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Edit: Nevermind, solved it.

Homework Statement



A ceiling fan with 80 cm-diameter blades is turning at 60rpm . Suppose the fan coasts to a stop 25 s after being turned off.

What is the speed of the tip of the blade 10 seconds after being turned off?

Through how many revolutions does the fan turn while stopping?

Homework Equations



It's just kinematic stuff, just rotational, no particularly complex equations.

The Attempt at a Solution



Ok, so the first part I could solve just fine.

I solved for the rotational acceleration using Vf=Vi+at where Vf=0, Vi=pi*.8=2.51 m/s(thanks to the easy conversion of 60rpm to m/s) and t=25s. The acceleration was -.1004. Then I just replugged the values in and solved for Vf at 10 seconds getting 1.5 m/s. That went fine, it was the correct answer.

The second part is where I am getting trouble. I figured I could just use a general kinematic displacement equation like df=di+vt+.5at^2 to get the distance traveled and then just divide by the circumference...which now that I am typing, I am realizing I put the wrong thing in my calculator, and I just solved it. Lolz. I divided by 2*pi*.8, but .8 is the diameter not the radius. pi*.8 gets me the right answer.

*sigh,* don't you hate it when you get caught up, not by a lack of understanding, but by just dumb errors? Well thanks for the speedy replies I know I would've gotten. I'll probably be back for more help later.
 
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Well done - at least you didn't just delete the question or leave the actual soution off.
This way, it is possible someone else will be able to use what you did as an example.
 
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