Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2001 ia Paper 4 12A Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-14
A coaxial shell of radius and thickness has mass . Integrating squared radius against mass, the moment of inertia of a uniform solid cylinder about its axis isOn the smooth incline, no tangential contact force produces spin, so the initially stationary cylinder simply slides with acceleration . Therefore .
For rolling without slipping, let be uphill static friction and the downward translational acceleration. Newton's second law, the rotational torque equation, and the contact constraint giveWith , these give and . The rolling-time factor on a straight incline is consequentlyThe required friction is ; the stated no-slip motion presupposes sufficient static friction. At an instantaneously stationary contact point it does no work. Gravitational potential energy is shared between translational and rotational kinetic energy, explaining why rolling accelerates more slowly than the smooth slide.