AP Physics 1 : Circular and Rotational Motion

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for AP Physics 1

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Example Questions

Example Question #153 : Circular, Rotational, And Harmonic Motion

Q4

A symmetrical rectangle (, ) has four forces, all of the same magnitude, pulling at each corner as shown in the picture. Which of the following statements is true?

Possible Answers:

Neither net force nor net torque is zero

Both net torque and net force is zero

Net force is not zero, but the net torque is zero

Net torque is not zero, but the net force is zero

Correct answer:

Net torque is not zero, but the net force is zero

Explanation:

First let's go on and define each of these terms...

Force: influence exerted 

Torque: a way for us to measure of the effectiveness of a force which consists of a force and its perpendicular distance from the line of action amongst the axis of rotation

Each reference in which you find these definition may vary, but they should all have a common gist. Force is some type of implication on an object that can cause that object's mobility. Torque, however, is the capability of a specific force to create rotation. Therefore, torque is not a force, it's a characteristic of a force.

The forces shown in the diagram each have a reciprocal. In other words,  is countered by, as is countered by . They each are equal, pulling in an opposite direction. With that said, the net force is zero. How? Well if we had a magazine (rectangle) and you and three of your friends each pulled on a corner as shown in the picture, the magazine wouldn't move. If you and a friend pulled on the same corners as and ,the magazine still wouldn't move (same goes for and ).

However, torques are slightly different. Torque is not (+) or (-), it is measured as clockwise or counter clockwise. So, looking at our diagram, all of the forces are in the same direction around the central pivot point (black circle). If three out of four of the forces shown were taken away, any of the remaining would cause the rectangle to rotate in the same manner (counter clockwise) around the pivot point. Therefore the net torque, or the total of the torques are all in the same direction and will NOT have a net value of zero, but rather a grand total of each force's torque separately.

Example Question #156 : Circular, Rotational, And Harmonic Motion

8

Michael just created a large square pinwheel. He attaches his pinwheel to a pivot screw in the middle of the square (side = ) allowing it to spin in the wind. However, when he brings it outside, the pinwheel doesn't move. Frustrated, Michael gives the bottom corner a flick (). What is the torque of the force provided?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

It is important to remember that torque is not a force, it's a characteristic of a force.

F is the force applied, r is the distance from the force's contact point and the object's center of mass,  is the angle between  and .

8

The trick to this problem is in two steps:

1) Find the  using the Pythagorean theorem. 

2) What's our ? Well we know that every square has 4  angles. If we drew a line from the corner of the square to the very middle (pivot point) of the pinwheel, we've just cut one of those angles in half!  

 Pytahg

Solving:

Knowing our trig functions we can plug in for 

Example Question #161 : Circular, Rotational, And Harmonic Motion

Question 3

Deanna and Rishi are playing on a seesaw ( long). Deanna () is  to the right from the center of the seesaw (called a fulcrum) and Rishi () is on the left (see diagram). They want to try and see if they can balance horizontally (without teetering up or down). If Deanna doesn't want to move from her seat, where should Rishi move to, with respect to the fulcrum, in order to find this balance?

Possible Answers:

 from the fulcrum

 from the fulcrum

 from the fulcrum

 from the fulcrum

Correct answer:

 from the fulcrum

Explanation:

This question deals with torques: 

It's important to note that torques are not (+) or (-), they are a direction, usually denoted as clockwise (CW) or counter clockwise (CCW). If you drew a FBD for each Deanna and Rishi, and included the pivot point, we'd see that each is in an opposite direction. That means that these torques oppose each other. If we want the seesaw to remain still, we must have the same torque on either side, this will result in a ZERO net torque. With that said, let's set this up!

The  on either side can cancel eachother out. Now let's solve for the distance Rishi is from the fulcrum ()

Example Question #161 : Circular, Rotational, And Harmonic Motion

Wrench

Susie is trying to tighten a bolt () using a wrench (, ) as shown. Susie applies a force, , of . What is the net torque of the system? Note: the green "X" on the figure refers to the wrench's center of mass. 

Possible Answers:

 clockwise

 counter clockwise

 clockwise

Correct answer:

Explanation:

Remember that the equation for torque is:

where  is the force applied,  is the distance from the force's contact point to the object's (wrench's) COM and  is the angle between  and 

We are provided with a whole bunch of numbers in the equation, however the explanation is much simpler than that. Looking at the direction of the force in reference to the COM,  is zero.

Knowing our trig functions, we know that  (regardless if we use radians or degrees).

The answer is 

Example Question #1 : Period And Frequency

A mass of  is traveling in a circle of . If it is under a centripetal force of , what is the mass's period?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

Knowing the centripetal force on the mass and the radius of the circle, we can calculate its velocity:

Rearranging for velocity:

We can use this to find the period of the mass:

Rearranging for period, we get:

Example Question #1 : Period And Frequency

A grandfather clock is getting extremely rusty on the inside and falls behind by 1500 seconds every day. What is the period of the minute hand of the clock?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

A normal clock registers 60 seconds for every rotation of the minute hand. We need to determine the new period per rotation.

A normal clock registers the following amount of seconds every day:

Losing 1500 seconds every day, we now have:

The hand in question completes one rotation every minute, so we'll dive this new time by minutes per day:

Now dividing our two values to get seconds per rotation:

Example Question #1 : Period And Frequency

Suppose you have a string of length  with a ball of mass  attached to the end. You are going to spin the ball in a vertical circle. What is the minimum frequency of the ball that will keep the string in tension at all times?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

To start, we need to determine what exactly we are solving for. What does it mean for the string to be in tension at all points? This means that at some point in the circle, tension will equal zero; thus the force of gravity and the centripetal force will equal each other.

Expand these force expressions and simplify:

The expression for centripetal acceleration is:

We know  (the length of the string) and , but we need to develop an expression for velocity:

Substituting this back into the equation for centripetal acceleration, we get:

Rearrange for frequency:

We know all of these values, allowing us to solve:

Example Question #2 : Period And Frequency

An astronaut in space has a ball of mass  attached to the end of a string of length . The ball is spun in a horizontal circle. If the string breaks under a force of , what is the minimum period at which the ball can be spun?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

Since the man is in space, the only force we have to worry about in this problem is the centripetal force, which results from the tension in the spring. Therefore, we are being asked what period gives us a centripetal force of .

We need an expression for velocity:

Substitute this back into the original expression:

Rearranging for period we get:

We know all of these values, allowing us to solve:

Example Question #1 : Period And Frequency

What is the ordinary frequency of the second hand on a clock?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

The ordinary frequency is the number of cycles per second. Since a second hand makes one revolution, or cycle, every 60s, the correct answer is . You can also think of the ordinary frequency as the angular velocity divided by .

Example Question #1072 : Newtonian Mechanics

A solid cylinder of mass  and radius  is at rest at the top of a slope with an angle of . The sphere is then released. How far down the slope has the sphere traveled when it has a period of . Neglect air resistance and any frictional forces.

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

We can begin with the conservation of energy to solve this problem:

The problem statement tells us that the cylinder is initially at rest, so we can eliminate initial kinetic energy. If we assume that the height of the cylinder when it reaches a period of 0.2s has a height of 0, we can eliminate final potential energy. Therefore, we get:

Expanding these terms and making sure we have both a linear and rotational component to kinetic energy, we get equation (1):

Before we move on, we know that we are going to have to calculate something that we can use to determine the period of the cylinder. We know that the period is how long it takes the cylinder to complete one full rotation. Thinking practically, we can use the circumference of the cylinder and linear velocity to determine period:

Using variables, we get equation:

Rearranging for final velocity, we get equation (2):

Now we know that the period is dependent on final linear velocity. We will come back to this equation. Now we can go back to equation (1) and begin substituting in expressions for unknown variables moving from left to right. The first variable we don't know is initial height. However, we can use the distance the cylinder traveled and the angle of the slope:

Rearranging for initial height, we get equation (3):

Moving on, the next unknown term is final velocity. We can substitute equation (2) that we already derived:

Moving on, the next unknown term is the moment of inertia. Using the expression for a cylinder to get equation (4):

Moving on, the final unknown term is final rotational velocity. We can use the relationship between this and linear velocity:

Now substituting equation (2), we get equation (5):

We can now substitute equations 2, 3, 4, and 5 into equation (1):

Eliminating mass from both sides of the equation and expanding each term:

Combining the terms on the right:

Rearranging for length:

Check your units and make sure you end up with seconds before moving on!

We know values for each variable, so time to plug and chug:

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