QuestionFIGURE 5-38 Problem 26. (II) A child slides down a slide with a incline, and at the bottom her speed is precisely half what it would have been if the slide had been frictionless. Calculate the coefficient of kinetic friction between the slide and the child.
Studdy Solution
STEP 1
1. The slide has an incline angle of .
2. The child's speed at the bottom is half of what it would be if there were no friction.
3. We need to calculate the coefficient of kinetic friction () between the slide and the child.
STEP 2
1. Analyze the energy conservation for the frictionless slide.
2. Analyze the energy conservation for the slide with friction.
3. Relate the two scenarios to find the coefficient of kinetic friction.
STEP 3
Analyze the energy conservation for the frictionless slide.
- In the frictionless scenario, all potential energy converts to kinetic energy.
- Let be the height of the slide, the mass of the child, and the final speed without friction.
- Potential energy at the top: .
- Kinetic energy at the bottom: .
- By conservation of energy: .
STEP 4
Analyze the energy conservation for the slide with friction.
- In the scenario with friction, some energy is lost to friction.
- Let be the final speed with friction.
- Given that .
- Energy equation: .
- Work done by friction: , where is the slide length.
STEP 5
Relate the two scenarios to find the coefficient of kinetic friction.
- From STEP_1, .
- From STEP_2, .
- Substitute into energy equation: .
- Simplify: .
- .
- Cancel and solve for : .
STEP 6
Express in terms of and .
- From geometry, .
- Substitute: .
- Simplify: .
STEP 7
Calculate using .
- Calculate .
- .
- Use a calculator to find .
- .
The coefficient of kinetic friction is approximately:
Was this helpful?