Você está na página 1de 3

Brown University

Physics Department

Physics 0050/0070
Yo-Yo Handout L-15

ACCELERATION OF A FALLING YO-YO (L-15)


THEORY:
A yo-yo is made of two identical disks attached at their centers to a cylindrical axle,
which has a smaller radius. A string is attached to and wrapped around this axle. If the yo-yo is
released, it displays both downward linear motion and circular motion about the axle.
To understand the motion of the yo-yo, let us denote the radius of the disks as r, the
radius of the axle as b (note: the radius of the axle does change slightly as the string unwinds;
however, this is a fairly small change and for the sake of simplicity we will consider it to be a
constant), the mass of the yo-yo as M, and the moment of inertia as Icm. In some textbooks Icm is
assumed to be roughly equal to that for a uniform disk, but we will just denote it as Icm for now;
the equation will be given later.

T
d

Tension
d

Mg

Weight

Side View

Front View

When the yo-yo falls, there are two forces acting on it: tension along the string in the
upward direction, and gravity in the downward direction. All forces and linear motion then are
along the vertical, and the net force gives us gravity minus tension if down is the positive
direction. This gives the equation
Mg-T=May

(1)

for linear motion.


For the angular motion, the torque is solely dependent on the tension along the string
gravity doesnt contribute. The equation for angular acceleration is therefore

131205

Brown University
Physics Department

Physics 0050/0070
Yo-Yo Handout L-15
Tb=Icm

(2)

where is the angular acceleration and therefore equal to the linear acceleration, ay divided by
ay
. We can substitute this value for the angular acceleration and get the equation
the radius, or
b
ay
Tb I cm
(3)
b
which puts both equation 1 and 3 in terms of T and a. Eliminating T in equation 1 through
substitution gives the equation
I
Mg cm2 a y Ma y
b
which can in turn be solved for the acceleration, giving

Mg
1
g.
ay
g
2
2
M I cm b
1 I cm Mb

(4)

(5)

This can be substituted back into one of the earlier equations to solve for the tension:
T Mg

I cm b 2
1
Mg.
Mg
2
2

1 I cm Mb
Mb I cm 1

(6)

The moment of inertia can be given as the sum of the moments of inertia of each of the
end disks plus the moment of inertia of the axle:
1
1

I cm M 1b 2 2 M 2 r 2
(7)
2
2

where M1 is the mass of the axle and M2 the mass of each disk. Substitute this into the values for
ay and T to get the answer.
The kinetic energy of the yo-yo can be determined using the conservation of energy. The
top end of the string doesnt move and so the string does no work on the yo-yo. Gravity does
positive work in the y direction. No energy is added to the system, so the decrease in potential
energy corresponding to the decrease in height is equal to the increase in kinetic energy, Mgh.
However, kinetic energy is not merely linear here: it is both translational (in this case, the
linear kinetic energy) and rotational:
1
1
2
K net Mv y I cm 2
(8)
2
2
where v is the velocity and the angular velocity. The angular velocity is equal to the linear
velocity divided by the radius (the radius of the axle, in this case, or b), which gives the equation

1
2
Mv y (1 I cm Mb 2 ) Mgy
(9) where y is
2
the distance in the vertical direction, and differentiating with respect to time gives
K net

131205

Brown University
Physics Department

Physics 0050/0070
Yo-Yo Handout L-15

Mv y

dv
dy
(1 I cm Mb 2 ) My , or
dt
dt

Mv y a y (1 I cm Mb 2 ) Mgv y .

(10)

This is identical to equation 5 (after dividing both sides by vy).


EXPERIMENT:

Experimentally you can measure the acceleration a and compare it with equation 5. If you
1
release the yoyo from rest then y at 2 where y is the distance fallen and t is the time of fall, t
2
can be measured with a stop watch or a photogate timer. Videotaping the falling yoyo is also
useful in obtaining position versus time data. The tension in the string of the falling yoyo can be
measured with a spring force meter (available in lab) and can be compared with equation (6).
Does your experimentally measured acceleration agree with theory? If you can experimentally
determine the velocity of the yoyo near the bottom of its fall then you can directly check the
validity of equation (9).
References:
Resnick and Halliday p. 258-259 Problems 39 and 43
Ford p. 440 Problem 10.19
Acceleration of a pulled spool (L-16)

131205

Você também pode gostar