Why Does the Mass Take 3.54s to Reach the Floor in This Torque Problem?

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SUMMARY

The problem involves a mass of 40.98 kg attached to a light string wrapped around a cylindrical spool with a radius of 10 cm and a moment of inertia of 4.00 kg·m². The mass is released from a height of 5.70 m, and the calculated time to reach the floor is 3.54 seconds, as confirmed by the correct application of torque and acceleration equations. The initial calculations mistakenly assumed tension equaled the weight of the mass, which led to an incorrect acceleration of 1.00401 m/s². Correctly incorporating tension into the equations resolves the discrepancy.

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Homework Statement


A mass of 40.98kg is attached to a light string which is wrapped around a cylindrical spool of radius 10cm and moment of inertia 4.00kg * m^2. The spool is suspended from the ceiling and the mass is then released from rest a distance 5.70m above the floor. How long does it take to reach the floor?

A) 1.13s
B) 3.54 s
C) 4.98s
D)3.37s
E)7.02

Homework Equations


[itex]\sum[/itex][itex]\tau[/itex]=I[itex]\alpha[/itex] (Equation 1)

a[itex]_{tangential}[/itex]=R[itex]\alpha[/itex] (equation 2)

y[itex]_{f}[/itex]=y[itex]_{i}[/itex]+v[itex]_{i}[/itex]t-1/2gt[itex]^{2}[/itex] (equation 3)

The Attempt at a Solution


Found the torque by using equation 1.
[itex]\tau[/itex]=I[itex]\alpha[/itex]=Fl=(40.98kg)(9.80m/s^2)(.1m)=40.1604N*m

Used the above result to find the acceleration along the y-axis of the mass using equation 2.
a[itex]_{tangential}[/itex]=R[itex]\alpha[/itex]

Solve for [itex]\alpha[/itex], substitute into equation 1, solve for acceleration,

a[itex]_{tangential}[/itex]=([itex]\tau[/itex]*R)/I = 1.00401m/s^2

Substitue the acceleration into equation 3. Since it starts from rest, initial velocity is zero we end up with...

Δy=1/2at[itex]^{2}[/itex]

Δy=5.70m, a=1.00401m/s^2, solve for t, I get...

t=√(Δy*2)/a = 3.37s.

However, the answer is B, 3.54s. Been trying to figure this out the past 2 hours and I've come here because I really don't know what I did wrong. Thank you for your time and help.
 
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AMacias2008 said:
Found the torque by using equation 1.
[itex]\tau[/itex]=I[itex]\alpha[/itex]=Fl=(40.98kg)(9.80m/s^2)(.1m)=40.1604N*m
You are wrongly assuming that the tension will be equal to the weight of he mass. but if that were the case the mass would not descend!
Introduce an unknown for the tension and write separate equations for the two objects.
 

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