2013: Problem 12

Topic: Rigid Bodies
Concepts: Moments of inertia, Rolling down inclined plane


Solution:

Recall the acceleration aa of an object rolling without slipping down an incline of angle θ\theta is

a=gsinθ1+βa=\frac{g\sin\theta}{1+\beta}

where the object has moment of inertia I=βmr2I=\beta mr^2. We will find the effective β\beta for our composite object of a spherical shell containing a frictionless fluid. Since the shell and fluid both have mass MM, this object has mass 2M2M. A frictionless fluid does not have rotational inertia so only the shell contributes to the moment of inertia I=23MR2I=\frac{2}{3}MR^2. Thus,

β=Imr2=23MR2(2M)R2=13\beta=\frac{I}{mr^2}=\frac{\frac{2}{3}MR^2}{(2M)R^2}=\frac{1}{3}
a=gsinθ1+(1/3)=34gsinθa=\frac{g\sin\theta}{1+(1/3)}=\frac{3}{4}g\sin\theta

so the answer is B.

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