Slide questions

[NE2000]

Hey I've got a question on how we deal in VCAA exams with questions in which something sits on a ramp, slides down and then goes onto a flat plane. Obviously when it slides down it has a horizontal and vertical component of velocity, but when it reaches the floor does it lose that vertical component or do we simply pretend the speed will not change whatsoever?

Thanks

[kamil9876]

In fact, if you assume that the little corner on the bottom is just a very curvy but smooth region then not only vcaa, but the actual laws of physics will tell you that the speed is conserved. Reason is that this change in direction must mean that a force acted on the object. The force that caused this change must be normal reaction force, which is always perpendicular to the tangent(hence the word normal) and as you may have noticed in physics, any force that is always perpendicular to velocity does not change the speed of the object(think circular motion).

[NE2000]

OK cool that makes perfect sense. So we assume it is smooth and curvy.

But if it isn't smooth and curvy (this is just a general question now) would we only count one component of the velocity or is there more to it than that?

[TrueTears]

OK cool that makes perfect sense. So we assume it is smooth and curvy.

But if it isn't smooth and curvy (this is just a general question now) would we only count one component of the velocity or is there more to it than that?

Our teacher warned us about questions like this and it actually poped up in our SAC as well.

If it is not smooth and curvy then yes if the object goes to flat ground, you'd only take the horizontal component of the speed.

[NE2000]

OK cool that makes perfect sense. So we assume it is smooth and curvy.

But if it isn't smooth and curvy (this is just a general question now) would we only count one component of the velocity or is there more to it than that?

Our teacher warned us about questions like this and it actually poped up in our SAC as well.

If it is not smooth and curvy then yes if the object goes to flat ground, you'd only take the horizontal component of the speed.

So what do we do for VCAA than :S

Sorry, just a little confused, did you mean that your teacher told you to take only the horizontal component of the speed and that's what you had to do for your SAC?

[TrueTears]

Nah, in all cases, if it is not a smooth join, then you only take the horizontal component. Assuming the plane is a flat plane and the plane which it rolls onto is also flat.