Where Did I Go Wrong Calculating the Precession Angle Change?

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Homework Help Overview

The discussion revolves around calculating the change in the precession angle of a rotating bicycle wheel supported at one side. The problem involves concepts from rotational dynamics and precession, specifically focusing on the relationship between angular velocity, gravitational forces, and the geometry of the system.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Assumption checking

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • The original poster attempts to apply a formula for the change in precession angle, questioning the correctness of their calculations and the units used. They express uncertainty about where their reasoning may have gone wrong.

Discussion Status

Some participants have noted the original poster's realization regarding the unit conversion from radians to degrees, indicating a potential direction for resolving the issue. However, there is no explicit consensus or further guidance provided by others in the thread.

Contextual Notes

The original poster mentions the need to consider the direction of rotation and the impact of unit conversion on their final answer. There is also an acknowledgment of the learning process involved in addressing the problem.

lizzyb
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Hi. I have: A 3 kg bicycle wheel rotating at a 2484 rev/min angular velocity has its shaft supported on one side, as show in the figure. When viewing from the left (from the positive x-axes), one sees that the wheel is rotating in a clockwise manner. The distance from the center of the wheel to the pivot point is 0.6 m. The wheel is a hoop of radius 0.4 m and its shaft is horizontal.

Assume all the mass of the system is located at the rim of the bicycle wheel. The acceleration of gravity is 9.8 m/s^2.

Find the change in the precession angle after a 1.5 s time interval.

In my book I have the equation:

[tex]d\phi = \frac{(M g h) dt}{L}[/tex]

so [tex]L = I \omega = M R^2 \omega[/tex]

therefore [tex]d\phi = \frac{(M g h) dt}{M R^2 \omega} = \frac{(g h) dt}{R^2 \omega}[/tex]

Now [tex]\omega = \frac{2484 "rev"}{"min"} \frac{1 "min"}{60 "sec"} \frac{2 \pi "rad"}{"rev"} = \frac{260.124 "rad"}{"sec"}[/tex]

and let [tex]h = 0.6, R = 0.4, g = 9.8, dt = 1.5[/tex]

Using these I came up with .211918 but the answer was wrong. Any ideas where I went wrong? Thank you.

[Edit]I tried -.211918 (the bicycle is rotating in a clockwise fashion) but that was wrong as well.
 
Last edited:
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I was supposed to answer in degrees but I was putting the answer in radians. This has been a humbling learning experience, but alas, those are the ones that seem to make such a difference. Thanks everyone! :-)
 
If by everyone, you mean yourself (since nobody actually did anything), then sure.

Nice to know you got the answer though
 
Office_Shredder said:
If by everyone, you mean yourself (since nobody actually did anything), then sure.

Nice to know you got the answer though

Thanks! I figured no one responded because they saw I was on the right path and assumed I would figure it out . Hence, by not responding they aided my development. It's happened before! :-)
 

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