INSTITUTE OF BASIC AND BIOMEDICAL SCIENCES

PHY 101

TUTORIAL SHEET 4: CIRCULAR MOTION

1. A bicycle wheel rotates with constant angular acceleration of 3.5 rad/s2. If the initial angular
speed of the wheel is 2.0 rad/s at t=0,

(a) Through what angle does it rotate in 2.0 s?

(b) Find the angular speed of the wheel at t=2s.

2. A floppy disc in a computer rotates from rest up to an angular speed of 31.4 rad/s in a time of
0.892 s.

(a) What is the angular acceleration of the disc, assuming the angular acceleration is uniform?

(b) How many rotations does the disc make while coming up to speed?

(c) If the radius of the disc is 4.45 cm, find the final linear speed of a microbe riding on the rim

of the disc.

(d) What is the tangential acceleration of the microbe at this time?

3. A wheel starts from rest and rotates with constant angular acceleration to reach an angular
speed of 12.0 rad/s in 3.00 s. Find

(a) the magnitude of the angular acceleration of the wheel and

(b) the angle in radians through which it rotates in this time.

4. The tub of a washer goes into its spin cycle, starting from rest and gaining angular speed
steadily for 8.00 s, at which time it is turning at 5.00rev/s. At this point the person doing the
laundry opens the lid, and a safety switch turns off the washer. The tub smoothly slows to rest in
12.0 s. Through how many revolutions does the tub turn while it is in motion?
5. The drive train of a bicycle that has wheels 67.3 cm in diameter and pedal cranks 17.5 cm
long. The cyclist pedals at a steady angular rate of 76.0 rev/min.

The chain engages with a front sprocket 15.2 cm in diameter and a rear sprocket 7.00 cm in
diameter.

(a) Calculate the speed of a link of the chain relative to the bicycle frame.

(b) Calculate the angular speed of the bicycle wheels.

(c) Calculate the speed of the bicycle relative to the road.

6. A ball of mass 0.500 kg is attached to the end of a cord 1.50 m long. The ball is whirled in a
horizontal circle as shown in the Figure below. If the cord can withstand a maximum tension of
50.0 N, what is the maximum speed at which the ball can be whirled before the cord breaks?
Assume that the string remains horizontal during the motion.