Solution

ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-year-2-of-the-natural-sciences-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2014/paper-1/9/ii/solution

Use the angle orientation in the PDF: has coordinates relative to the hoop centre. The wrapped string segment has length . As increases, it releases length , so the suspended mass moves down by . Both speeds have magnitude .
Thus the hoop with a suspended counterweight has
and . The Euler-Lagrange equation gives
At equilibrium,
The positive curvature establishes stability. Put and linearize. The equilibrium force cancels, leaving
Hence
For , and , the small-oscillation frequency of a simple pendulum of length . The linearization assumes an amplitude small enough to remain inside the stated angular range and a taut string throughout.
Figure 1.
Independent hoop-and-counterweight geometry and the stable minimum of its potential energy
. Details.

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