A merry-go-round is a common piece of playground equipment. A 3.0-m-diameter merry-go-round with a mass of 250 kg is spinning at 20 rpm. John runs tangent to the merry-go-round
at 5.0 m/s, in the same direction that it is turning, and jumps onto the outer edge. John’s mass is 30 kg. What is the merry-goround’s angular velocity, in rpm, after John jumps on?

Short Answer

Expert verified

After John jumps on the angular velocity is 25.37 rpm

Step by step solution

01

Given information

Mass of merry go round (M) =250 kg

Speed of merry go round =20 rpm

Diameter of merry go round = 3m

So radius =1.5 m
Mass of John =30 kg

Speed of John = 5m/s

02

Explanation

First find the Moment of inertia of merry go round

I=12MR2..........................................(1)

So the momentum of the merry go round is

Lm=Iω=12MR2(ω)...............................(2)

Substitute the given value to get the momentum

Lm=Iω=12(250kg)(1.5m)2(2.093rad/sec)=588.656kgm2/sec...........(3)

Angular momentum of John

Lj=mVR2........................(4)

Substitute the values we get

Lj=mVR2=(30kg)(5m/s)(1.5m)2=337.5kgm2/sec..........(5)

Now find total angular momentum
Total angular momentum = Angular momentum of merry go round + angular momentum of John

Ltotal=Lm+LjLtotal=588.656kgm2sec+337.5kgm2secLtotal=926.55kgm2/sec

We know L = Iω

Lets find inertia

Itotal=12MR2+mR2...........................(6)

We can find the angular velocity by substituting values in equation (6)

ωtotal=Ltotal12MR2+mR2ωtotal=926.55kgm2sec12(250kg)(1.5m)2+(30kg)(1.5m)2ωtotal=2.656rad/secωtotal=25.37rpm

Unlock Step-by-Step Solutions & Ace Your Exams!

  • Full Textbook Solutions

    Get detailed explanations and key concepts

  • Unlimited Al creation

    Al flashcards, explanations, exams and more...

  • Ads-free access

    To over 500 millions flashcards

  • Money-back guarantee

    We refund you if you fail your exam.

Over 30 million students worldwide already upgrade their learning with Vaia!

One App. One Place for Learning.

All the tools & learning materials you need for study success - in one app.

Get started for free

Most popular questions from this chapter

See all solutions

Recommended explanations on Physics Textbooks

View all explanations

What do you think about this solution?

We value your feedback to improve our textbook solutions.

Study anywhere. Anytime. Across all devices.

Sign-up for free