INSTITUTE OF BASIC AND BIOMEDICAL SCIENCES
2024/2025 ACADEMIC YEAR PHY 101
TUTORIAL SHEET 4: ROTATIONAL KINEMATICS
QUESTION 0NE
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,
I. Through what angle does it rotate in 2.0 s? [ 11 rad, 1.75 revs]
II. Find the angular speed of the wheel at t=2s. [9.0 rad/s]
B. 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.
I. What is the angular acceleration of the disc, assuming the angular acceleration is uniform?
[ 35.2 rad/𝑠 2 ]
II. How many rotations does the disc make while coming up to speed? [14 rad or 2.23 rev]
III. 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.
[1.4 m/s]
IV. What is the tangential acceleration of the microbe at this time? [ 1.57 m/𝑠 2 ]
C. 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
I. the magnitude of the angular acceleration of the wheel. [ 4.00 rad/𝑠 2 ]
II. the angle in radians through which it rotates in this time. [ 18.0 rad]
D. 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? [ 50 rev ]
QUESTION TWO
A. 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.
I. Calculate the speed of a link of the chain relative to the bicycle frame. [ 0.605 m/s]
II. Calculate the angular speed of the bicycle wheels. [17.3 rad/s]
III. Calculate the speed of the bicycle relative to the road. [5.82 m/s]
B. 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. [ 12.2 m/s]
C. A jet is flying at 134.1 m/s along a straight line and makes a turn along a circular path level with the
ground. What does the radius of the circle have to be to produce a centripetal acceleration of 10𝑚/𝑠 2
(acceleration due to gravity) on the pilot and jet toward the centre of the circular trajectory?
[ans:1835m=1.835km]
D. Passengers on a bus ride move at constant speed makes a turn on a roundabout of radius 5.0 m, making
a complete circle in 4.0 s. What is their acceleration?