A solid cone rolls down an incline. If its height is h, what is the relationship
Practice Questions
Q1
A solid cone rolls down an incline. If its height is h, what is the relationship between its potential energy and kinetic energy at the bottom?
PE = KE
PE = 2KE
PE = 3KE
PE = 4KE
Questions & Step-by-Step Solutions
A solid cone rolls down an incline. If its height is h, what is the relationship between its potential energy and kinetic energy at the bottom?
Step 1: Understand that potential energy (PE) is the energy an object has due to its height. For a solid cone at height h, the potential energy is given by PE = mgh, where m is mass and g is the acceleration due to gravity.
Step 2: When the cone rolls down the incline, it loses potential energy and gains kinetic energy. Kinetic energy (KE) can be divided into two types: translational kinetic energy (due to its movement) and rotational kinetic energy (due to its spinning).
Step 3: The total kinetic energy at the bottom of the incline is the sum of translational kinetic energy (KE_trans) and rotational kinetic energy (KE_rot).
Step 4: For a solid cone, the relationship between potential energy and kinetic energy at the bottom of the incline is given by the equation PE = KE_trans + KE_rot.
Step 5: It can be shown that for a solid cone, the rotational kinetic energy is half of the translational kinetic energy, leading to the relationship PE = 2KE, where KE is the total kinetic energy.
Conservation of Energy – The principle that energy cannot be created or destroyed, only transformed from one form to another.
Potential Energy – The energy stored in an object due to its height above the ground, calculated as PE = mgh.
Kinetic Energy – The energy of an object in motion, which includes both translational and rotational components for rolling objects.
Rolling Motion – The combination of translational and rotational motion, where the total kinetic energy is the sum of both forms.