Wheel Rotation: Vertical or Horizontal?

[majstro]

Need some help with a problem here:

A hot splinter is dislodged from a spinning grinding wheel. Which of the paths drawn in figure best represent its subsequent motion, given that the axis of rotation is a) vertical b) horizontal ?

Heres is the picture for the q.:

http://img300.imageshack.us/my.php?image=wheeljm9.jpg

 

[cristo]

Well, what do you think? Please show your thoughts on the question.

 

[majstro]

First, what do they mean with vertical/horizontal- axis?

 

[majstro]

The axis of the wheel on the example is pointing "into" the picture. Am i right?

 

[majstro]

could someone define horizontal/vertical-axis

 

[cristo]

The axis of the wheel on the example is pointing "into" the picture. Am i right?

I'd imagine that if the axis of rotation is horizontal, then you can take the axis going into the diagram. If the axis of rotation is vertical, imagine the wheel spinning about a veritcal line drawn down the wheel through the centre.

 

[^_^physicist]

For part b) your drawing seems correct (as it will be rotating much like a wheel of a car, in ideal conditions)...so my suggestion is to draw the acceleration vectors for some point on the wheel and make my guess from their.

Remember there is a tangential and a centripetal acceleration...what does this mean?