Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Oxford / 2017 / Prelims / Mathematics IV resit / 6 / b / Solution

Choose positive $x$ downhill and positive $\theta$ in the corresponding rolling direction, with $x=\theta =0$ initially. For rolling without slipping, the contact point has zero velocity, so $\dot{x}-b\dot{\theta }=0$. Integrating the rolling constraint givesLet $F$ be the uphill static friction. Along the inclined plane, Newton's second law for the centre of mass givesThe weight passes through the centre of mass, and the normal reaction has its line of action through it. Thus only static friction supplies torque about $G$. The angular velocity is along the cylinder's symmetry axis, so the inertia tensor gives angular momentum $C\dot{\theta }$ in that direction. The torque equation is thereforeEliminating static friction and inserting $C$ givesThe extra term represents the rotational inertia that must be accelerated along with the translational mass.