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Concepts Of Physics MCQ Edition [Volume 1]
Exam
Concepts Of Physics MCQ Edition [Volume 1]
Subject
Physics
Chapter
Rotational Mechanics

Concepts Of Physics MCQ Edition [Volume 1] · Physics · Rotational Mechanics

A solid sphere, a hollow sphere and a disc, all having the same...

A solid sphere, a hollow sphere and a disc, all having the same mass and radius, are released from rest at the top of an incline. The friction coefficients are identical and not sufficient to allow pure rolling. The smallest kinetic energy at the bottom of the incline will be achieved by

Options

  1. Athe solid sphere
  2. Bthe hollow sphere
  3. Cthe disc
  4. Dall will achieve same kinetic energy

Correct answer

B. the hollow sphere

Step-by-step solution

Since the friction is not sufficient to allow pure rolling, all the objects will slip as they move down the incline. The kinetic friction force acting on each object is fk=μMgcos⁡θf_k = \mu M g \cos\theta.

The linear acceleration of the center of mass for all objects is given by:
a=gsin⁡θ−μgcos⁡θa = g \sin\theta - \mu g \cos\theta

Since aa is independent of the shape and moment of inertia, all three objects will take the same time tt to reach the bottom and will have the same translational velocity v=atv = at. Thus, their translational kinetic energies Ktrans=12Mv2K_{\text{trans}} = \dfrac{1}{2} M v^2 will be identical.

The angular acceleration of each object is:
α=τI=fkRI\alpha = \dfrac{\tau}{I} = \dfrac{f_k R}{I}

The angular velocity at the bottom of the incline is:
ω=αt=fkRtI\omega = \alpha t = \dfrac{f_k R t}{I}

The rotational kinetic energy at the bottom is:
Krot=12Iω2=12I(fkRtI)2=(fkRt)22IK_{\text{rot}} = \dfrac{1}{2} I \omega^2 = \dfrac{1}{2} I \left( \dfrac{f_k R t}{I} \right)^2 = \dfrac{(f_k R t)^2}{2 I}

The total kinetic energy is:
K=Ktrans+Krot=12Mv2+(fkRt)22IK = K_{\text{trans}} + K_{\text{rot}} = \dfrac{1}{2} M v^2 + \dfrac{(f_k R t)^2}{2 I}

Since MM, vv, fkf_k, RR, and tt are the same for all three objects, the total kinetic energy KK is inversely related to the moment of inertia II. To find the smallest kinetic energy, we need the object with the largest moment of inertia.

The moments of inertia for the given objects are:
Solid sphere: I=25MR2=0.4MR2I = \dfrac{2}{5} M R^2 = 0.4 M R^2
Disc: I=12MR2=0.5MR2I = \dfrac{1}{2} M R^2 = 0.5 M R^2
Hollow sphere: I=23MR2≈0.67MR2I = \dfrac{2}{3} M R^2 \approx 0.67 M R^2

The hollow sphere has the largest moment of inertia, which means it will acquire the smallest rotational kinetic energy. Therefore, the hollow sphere will achieve the smallest total kinetic energy at the bottom of the incline.

Answer: the hollow sphere
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