Suppose a piece of food is on the edge of a rotating microwave oven plate. Does it experience nonzero tangential acceleration, centripetal acceleration, or both when: (a) The plate starts to spin? (b) The plate rotates at constant angular velocity? (c) The plate slows to a halt?

Question

Robertson

Physics

22 March, 08:31

Suppose a piece of food is on the edge of a rotating microwave oven plate. Does it experience nonzero tangential acceleration, centripetal acceleration, or both when: (a) The plate starts to spin? (b) The plate rotates at constant angular velocity? (c) The plate slows to a halt?

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Answers (1)

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Grant · Answer 1

(a) When the plate starts to spin:

Its angular velocity increases, so the angular acceleration is non zero. As the direction of velocity keeps on changing every instant so the linear acceleration is also non zero.

(b) When the plate rotates at constant angular velocity:

Its angular velocity is constant so the angular acceleration is zero. As the direction of velocity keeps on changing every instant so the linear acceleration is also non zero.

(c) When the plate sows to halt:

Its angular velocity decreases, so the angular acceleration is non zero (but negative). As the direction of velocity keeps on changing every instant so the linear acceleration is also non zero.