| Derivation or Formula | Reasoning |
|---|---|
| \[\tau = rF\sin\theta\] | The magnitude of torque is defined as the product of the lever arm \(r\), the force magnitude \(F\), and the sine of the angle \(\theta\) between them. |
| \[r = \frac{L}{2}, \quad F = M_0 g, \quad \theta = 60^\circ\] | The force of gravity acts at the rod’s center of mass located \(L/2\) from the pivot. The rod is \(30^\circ\) below the horizontal, so the angle between the rod and the downward force (vertical) is \(60^\circ\). |
| \[\tau = M_0 g\left(\frac{L}{2}\right)\sin(60^\circ)\] | Substituting \(r\), \(F\), and \(\theta\) into the torque formula gives the correct magnitude. |
| \[\text{Option (a): }M_0 g\left(\frac{L}{2}\right)\sin(30^\circ)\] | Incorrect because it uses the \(30^\circ\) angle between the rod and the horizontal, not the required angle between \(\vec r\) and \(\vec F\). |
| \[\text{Option (b): }M_0 g\left(\frac{L}{2}\right)\sin(60^\circ)\] | Correct; it employs the right lever arm and the correct \(60^\circ\) angle. |
| \[\text{Option (c): }M_0 g L\sin(30^\circ)\] | Incorrect because it doubles the lever arm (uses \(L\) instead of \(L/2\)) and the angle is wrong. |
| \[\text{Option (d): }M_0 g L\sin(60^\circ)\] | Incorrect because it doubles the lever arm; the center of mass is not located a full length \(L\) from the pivot. |
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An object is moving in a horizontal circle at a constant speed. Which of the following correctly describes the linear and angular velocities of the object between any point along the circular path?

A sphere starts from rest and rolls down an incline of height \( H = 1.0 \) \( \text{m} \) at an angle of \( 25^\circ \) with the horizontal, as shown above. The radius of the sphere \( R = 15 \) \( \text{cm} \), and its mass \( m = 1.0 \) \( \text{kg} \). The moment of inertia for a sphere is \( \frac{2}{5}mR^2 \). What is the speed of the sphere when it reaches the bottom of the plane?
What is the rotational inertia \( I \) of a disk with a radius \( R = 4 \) \( \text{m} \) and a mass \( 2 \) \( \text{kg} \)? The same disk is rotated around an axis that is \( 0.5 \) \( \text{m} \) from the center of the disk. What is the new rotational inertia \( I \) of the disk? What would the rotational inertia be if the disk axis was \( 3.75 \) \( \text{m} \) from the center?

The graph above shows the angular velocity of a spinning wheel (radius = \( 25 \) \( \text{cm} \)) as a function of time.
The moment of inertia of a solid cylinder about its axis is given by \( 0.5MR^2 \). If this cylinder rolls without slipping, the ratio of its rotational kinetic energy to its translational kinetic energy is

Four identical lead balls with large mass are connected by rigid but very light rods in the square configuration shown in the preceding figure. The balls are rotated about the three labeled axes. Which of the following correctly ranks the rotational inertia \(I\) of the balls about each axis?
A rotating, rigid body makes 10 complete revolutions in 10 seconds. What is its average angular velocity?
Two uniform solid balls, one of radius \( R \) and mass \( M \), the other of radius \( 2R \) and mass \( 8M \), roll down a high incline. They start together from rest at the top of the incline. Which one will reach the bottom of the incline first?

The elliptical orbit of a comet is shown above. Positions 1 and 2 are, respectively, the farthest and nearest positions to the Sun, and at position 1 the distance from the comet to the Sun is 10 times that at position 2. At position 2, the comet’s kinetic energy is
A solid sphere, solid cylinder, and a hollow pipe all have equal masses and radii. If the three of them are released simultaneously from the top of an inclined plane and do not slip, which one will reach the bottom first?
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| Kinematics | Forces |
|---|---|
| \(\Delta x = v_i t + \frac{1}{2} at^2\) | \(F = ma\) |
| \(v = v_i + at\) | \(F_g = \frac{G m_1 m_2}{r^2}\) |
| \(v^2 = v_i^2 + 2a \Delta x\) | \(f = \mu N\) |
| \(\Delta x = \frac{v_i + v}{2} t\) | \(F_s =-kx\) |
| \(v^2 = v_f^2 \,-\, 2a \Delta x\) |
| Circular Motion | Energy |
|---|---|
| \(F_c = \frac{mv^2}{r}\) | \(KE = \frac{1}{2} mv^2\) |
| \(a_c = \frac{v^2}{r}\) | \(PE = mgh\) |
| \(T = 2\pi \sqrt{\frac{r}{g}}\) | \(KE_i + PE_i = KE_f + PE_f\) |
| \(W = Fd \cos\theta\) |
| Momentum | Torque and Rotations |
|---|---|
| \(p = mv\) | \(\tau = r \cdot F \cdot \sin(\theta)\) |
| \(J = \Delta p\) | \(I = \sum mr^2\) |
| \(p_i = p_f\) | \(L = I \cdot \omega\) |
| Simple Harmonic Motion | Fluids |
|---|---|
| \(F = -kx\) | \(P = \frac{F}{A}\) |
| \(T = 2\pi \sqrt{\frac{l}{g}}\) | \(P_{\text{total}} = P_{\text{atm}} + \rho gh\) |
| \(T = 2\pi \sqrt{\frac{m}{k}}\) | \(Q = Av\) |
| \(x(t) = A \cos(\omega t + \phi)\) | \(F_b = \rho V g\) |
| \(a = -\omega^2 x\) | \(A_1v_1 = A_2v_2\) |
| Constant | Description |
|---|---|
| [katex]g[/katex] | Acceleration due to gravity, typically [katex]9.8 , \text{m/s}^2[/katex] on Earth’s surface |
| [katex]G[/katex] | Universal Gravitational Constant, [katex]6.674 \times 10^{-11} , \text{N} \cdot \text{m}^2/\text{kg}^2[/katex] |
| [katex]\mu_k[/katex] and [katex]\mu_s[/katex] | Coefficients of kinetic ([katex]\mu_k[/katex]) and static ([katex]\mu_s[/katex]) friction, dimensionless. Static friction ([katex]\mu_s[/katex]) is usually greater than kinetic friction ([katex]\mu_k[/katex]) as it resists the start of motion. |
| [katex]k[/katex] | Spring constant, in [katex]\text{N/m}[/katex] |
| [katex] M_E = 5.972 \times 10^{24} , \text{kg} [/katex] | Mass of the Earth |
| [katex] M_M = 7.348 \times 10^{22} , \text{kg} [/katex] | Mass of the Moon |
| [katex] M_M = 1.989 \times 10^{30} , \text{kg} [/katex] | Mass of the Sun |
| Variable | SI Unit |
|---|---|
| [katex]s[/katex] (Displacement) | [katex]\text{meters (m)}[/katex] |
| [katex]v[/katex] (Velocity) | [katex]\text{meters per second (m/s)}[/katex] |
| [katex]a[/katex] (Acceleration) | [katex]\text{meters per second squared (m/s}^2\text{)}[/katex] |
| [katex]t[/katex] (Time) | [katex]\text{seconds (s)}[/katex] |
| [katex]m[/katex] (Mass) | [katex]\text{kilograms (kg)}[/katex] |
| Variable | Derived SI Unit |
|---|---|
| [katex]F[/katex] (Force) | [katex]\text{newtons (N)}[/katex] |
| [katex]E[/katex], [katex]PE[/katex], [katex]KE[/katex] (Energy, Potential Energy, Kinetic Energy) | [katex]\text{joules (J)}[/katex] |
| [katex]P[/katex] (Power) | [katex]\text{watts (W)}[/katex] |
| [katex]p[/katex] (Momentum) | [katex]\text{kilogram meters per second (kgm/s)}[/katex] |
| [katex]\omega[/katex] (Angular Velocity) | [katex]\text{radians per second (rad/s)}[/katex] |
| [katex]\tau[/katex] (Torque) | [katex]\text{newton meters (Nm)}[/katex] |
| [katex]I[/katex] (Moment of Inertia) | [katex]\text{kilogram meter squared (kgm}^2\text{)}[/katex] |
| [katex]f[/katex] (Frequency) | [katex]\text{hertz (Hz)}[/katex] |
Metric Prefixes
Example of using unit analysis: Convert 5 kilometers to millimeters.
Start with the given measurement: [katex]\text{5 km}[/katex]
Use the conversion factors for kilometers to meters and meters to millimeters: [katex]\text{5 km} \times \frac{10^3 \, \text{m}}{1 \, \text{km}} \times \frac{10^3 \, \text{mm}}{1 \, \text{m}}[/katex]
Perform the multiplication: [katex]\text{5 km} \times \frac{10^3 \, \text{m}}{1 \, \text{km}} \times \frac{10^3 \, \text{mm}}{1 \, \text{m}} = 5 \times 10^3 \times 10^3 \, \text{mm}[/katex]
Simplify to get the final answer: [katex]\boxed{5 \times 10^6 \, \text{mm}}[/katex]
Prefix | Symbol | Power of Ten | Equivalent |
|---|---|---|---|
Pico- | p | [katex]10^{-12}[/katex] | 0.000000000001 |
Nano- | n | [katex]10^{-9}[/katex] | 0.000000001 |
Micro- | µ | [katex]10^{-6}[/katex] | 0.000001 |
Milli- | m | [katex]10^{-3}[/katex] | 0.001 |
Centi- | c | [katex]10^{-2}[/katex] | 0.01 |
Deci- | d | [katex]10^{-1}[/katex] | 0.1 |
(Base unit) | – | [katex]10^{0}[/katex] | 1 |
Deca- or Deka- | da | [katex]10^{1}[/katex] | 10 |
Hecto- | h | [katex]10^{2}[/katex] | 100 |
Kilo- | k | [katex]10^{3}[/katex] | 1,000 |
Mega- | M | [katex]10^{6}[/katex] | 1,000,000 |
Giga- | G | [katex]10^{9}[/katex] | 1,000,000,000 |
Tera- | T | [katex]10^{12}[/katex] | 1,000,000,000,000 |
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