Question41. (II) On an ice rink two skaters of equal mass grab hands and spin in a mutual circle once every 2.5 s . If we assume their arms are each 0.80 m long and their individual masses are 55.0 kg , how hard are they pulling on one another?
Studdy Solution
STEP 1
1. The skaters are spinning in a circle with a period of seconds.
2. Each skater has a mass of kg.
3. The distance from the center of the circle to each skater is m.
4. The motion is uniform circular motion.
STEP 2
1. Determine the radius of the circle.
2. Calculate the angular velocity.
3. Determine the centripetal force required for circular motion.
4. Calculate the force exerted by each skater.
STEP 3
Determine the radius of the circle. Since the skaters are holding hands and spinning around a mutual center, the radius is the length of one arm:
STEP 4
Calculate the angular velocity . The formula for angular velocity in terms of the period is:
Substitute :
STEP 5
Determine the centripetal force required for circular motion. The formula for centripetal force is:
Substitute the known values:
STEP 6
Calculate the force exerted by each skater. Simplify and compute the expression for :
Thus, each skater is pulling on the other with a force of approximately:
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