Question
A solid sphere, disc and solid cylinder all of the same mass and made of the same material are allowed to roll down (from rest) on the inclined plane, then
A.
solid sphere reaches the bottom first
B.
solid sphere reaches the bottom last
C.
disc will reach the bottom first
D.
all reach the bottom at the same time
Answer :
solid sphere reaches the bottom first
Solution :
Let us consider that solid sphere, disc and solid cylinder are rolling on an inclined plane. $$M, I$$ and $$R$$ be mass, moment of inertia and radius of the rolling section in each case.
(i) Solid sphere The moment of inertia of a solid sphere about its diameter is given by $$I = \frac{2}{5}M{R^2}$$
$${\text{or}}\,\,K = \frac{I}{{M{R^2}}} = \frac{2}{5}$$
As from the concept, acceleration
$$\eqalign{
& a = \frac{{g\sin \theta }}{{1 + K}} \cr
& {\text{So,}}\,\,a = \frac{{g\sin \theta }}{{1 + \frac{2}{5}}} = \frac{5}{7}g\sin \theta \cr} $$
(ii) Disc The moment of inertia of disc about an axis perpendicular to the plane of disc and passing through its centre is given by $$I = \frac{1}{2}M{R^2}$$
$${\text{or}}\,\,\frac{I}{{M{R^2}}} = \frac{1}{2}$$
$$\therefore a = \frac{{g\sin \theta }}{{1 + \frac{1}{2}}} = \frac{2}{3}g\sin \theta $$
(iii) Solid cylinder The moment of inertia of a cylinder about the axis passing through its centre and perpendicular to its plane is given by $$I = \frac{1}{2}M{R^2}$$
$$\eqalign{
& {\text{or}}\,\,\frac{I}{{M{R^2}}} = \frac{1}{2} \cr
& \therefore a = \frac{{g\sin \theta }}{{1 + \frac{1}{2}}} = \frac{2}{3}g\sin \theta \cr} $$
So, acceleration of solid sphere is more. It implies that solid sphere reaches the bottom first.