Awooden rod of negligible mass and length 84.0 cm is pivoted about a horizontal axis through its center. a white rat with mass 0.600 kg clings to one end of the stick, and a mouse with mass 0.200 kg clings to the other end. the system is released from rest with the rod horizontal. if the animals can manage to hold on, what are their speeds as the rod swings through a vertical position?

v = 2.029 m/s

Explanation:

Given

L = 84.0 cm   ⇒  R = 0.5*L = 0.5*84 cm = 42 cm = 0.42 m

m₁ = 0.600 kg

m₂ = 0.200 kg

g = 9.8 m/s²

u₁ = u₂ = 0 m/s

v₁ = ?

v₂ = ?

Due to gravity, the bar oscillates and becomes vertical. The mass that occupies the lower position is the one with the highest torque. The one that reduces the potential energy (the system tends to the position of minimum energy). This is achieved if the mass that goes down is 0.6kg (that goes down 42cm) and the one that goes up is 0.2kg (goes up 42cm).

In this system mechanical energy is conserved, so we can match its value in the horizontal position with the one in the vertical.

then

Ei = Ki + Ui = 0.5*(m₁+m₂)*(0)² + (m₁+m₂)*9.8*(0) = 0 J

Ef = Kf + Uf

⇒ Kf = 0.5*(m₁+m₂)*v² = 0.5*(0.6+0.2)*v² = 0.4*v²

⇒ Uf = m₁*g*h₁ + m₂*g*h₂ = 0.6*9.8*(-0.42) + 0.2*9.8*0.42 = - 1.6464

⇒ Ef = Kf + Uf = 0.4*v² - 1.6464

Since

0 = 0.4*v² - 1.6464  ⇒  v = 2.029 m/s

v is the same value due to the wooden rod is pivoted about a horizontal axis through its center and the masses are on opposite ends.

v₁ = v₂ = v    ⇒  ω₁*R₁ = ω₂*R₂  ⇒ ω₁*R = ω₂*R  ⇒ ω₁ = ω₂ = ω

⇒ v = ω*R

carbon is found in all living things. carbon atoms move constantly through

living organisms, the oceans, the atmosphere, and the earth’s crust in what is

known as the carbon cycle. the directions taken by carbon atoms through this

cycle are very complicated and can take millions of years to make a full circle.

all animals, from humans to the dinosaurs are part of the carbon cycle. when

animals eat food, they get carbon in the form of carbohydrates and proteins.

in animals, oxygen combines with food in the cells to produce energy for daily

activity and then gives off carbon. the carbon combines with oxygen to form

carbon dioxide (co2) and is released back into the atmosphere as a waste

product when animals breathe and exhale.

from 145-65 million years ago, earth was much

hotter than today and covered with dense,

tropical swamp forests. the trees and other

plants were immense and

provided an endless supply of

food for the giant animals that

roamed the land. somewhere in

the air above one of these

forests, a lone carbon atom has joined

up with two oxygen atoms to form a molecule of co2.

the co2 molecule was sucked into the tiny holes (stomata) on the leaf of a

fern plant and joined with sunlight, chlorophyll and water to make food and

energy in the plant’s cells through photosynthesis. the oxygen (o2) from the

co2 molecule was sent back into the atmosphere; the carbon atom (c) was

detached and used to make a molecule of sugar.

if that carbon atom had been eaten instead, a totally

different situation would have developed. let’s say

that a giant plant-eating dinosaur (herbivore) ate the

fern for breakfast, and swallowed the carbon in the

fern in the form of carbohydrates and proteins. in

the process of respiration, oxygen combined with

the carbohydrates and proteins in the dinosaur’s cells

to provide energy for its daily activity.