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Formative assessment questions for teaching physics

A2L Item 105

  • Description: What is the speed of a hoop rolling on an incline after its center has fallen a distance h?
  • Goal: Problem solving
  • Source: UMPERG-ctqpe147
  • Keywords: Conservation, Energy, Mechanics, Rotational Motion

The question for students:

Item105_fig1.gif

A hoop of mass 4 kg and radius r rolls without slipping down an incline 30° to the horizontal. The hoop is released from rest. What is the speed of the hoop after its center has fallen a distance h?

  1. (4g(h-r))1/2
  2. (2gh)1/2
  3. (gh)1/2
  4. (0.5g(h+r))1/2
  5. none of the above
  6. cannot be determined

Commentary for teachers:

Answer

(3.) Students should realize that the speed cannot depend upon the radius. Answer #2 is the speed that a falling point mass would have and the hoop must have less than that.