AP PHYSICS C: MECHANICS Scoring Guide

Unit 5 Progress Check: FRQ 4

1. Show all your work for each part of the question. The parts within the question may not have equal weight.

In Figure , an ideal string is wrapped around Pulley of mass and radius . A small block of mass
is attached to the string, and Pulley is initially held at rest. In Figure , a rope of uniform linear
mass density is wrapped around Pulley , which is identical to Pulley . A section of the rope with the same
mass as the block hangs from the pulley, and Pulley is also held at rest initially. Both pulleys have rotational
inertia and can rotate with negligible friction in their axles, which are fixed in place at all times. At time
, both pulleys are released from rest.

For the questions that follow, the following assumptions can be made.

At all times, the section of rope that is wrapped around Pulley does not contribute significantly to the rotational
inertia of the Pulley -rope system.

At all times after the pulleys are released, the linear accelerations of the block and of the hanging section of rope
are nonzero but very small compared to . Consequently, the tension at any point in the string or rope is
approximately equal to the weight below that point.

(a) After the pulleys are released, they begin rotating. Indicate which of the following claims is correct regarding
the instantaneous angular speeds of the pulleys a short, nonzero time after they are released.

_____ The angular speed is greater for Pulley .

_____ The angular speed is greater for Pulley .

_____ The angular speed is the same for both pulleys.

Justify your claim without writing or manipulating equations.

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 Scoring Guide

Unit 5 Progress Check: FRQ 4

(b) For the Pulley -rope system, a group of students find that the angular speed as a function of can be
modeled by the following equation: , where is a positive constant.

i. Derive an equation for the angular acceleration of Pulley as a function of . Express your answer in
terms of , , , , , , and physical constants, as appropriate.

ii. Using the initial acceleration of the system shown in Figure , derive an expression for the constant AND
then use the expression for to write in terms of , , , , , and physical constants, as
appropriate.

A third pulley, Pulley , has mass and the same radius as Pulley . A rope of the same linear density is
wrapped around Pulley , with a rope section of mass initially hanging from the pulley. Pulley is returned
to the same configuration shown in Figure . At time , pulleys and are released simultaneously.

(c) A long time after being released, but before the ropes are completed unwrapped from the pulleys, indicate
whether the angular acceleration is greater for Pulley , greater for Pulley , or the same for both pulleys. Using
the equation you derived in part (b), justify your answer.

Part A

Select a point value to view scoring criteria, solutions, and/or examples and to score the response.

0 1 2 3

The response accurately includes all of the following criteria.

1 point is earned for selecting “… greater for Pulley ,” with an attempt at a relevant justification.
1 point is earned for relating angular acceleration to angular speed.
1 point is earned for justifying why the angular acceleration for Pulley is greater than that of Pulley
for times .

Example Response

The angular speed is greater for Pulley . At the instant they are released from rest, both pulleys experience the same
torque because the hanging weight is the same. However, as the rope continues to unwind from Pulley , the weight
hanging from Pulley is increasing, causing more torque and therefore more angular acceleration for . Because the
angular acceleration on Pulley is greater (except right at ), the angular speed is increasing at a greater rate for
Pulley so the angular speed will be greater for Pulley .

Part B

Select a point value to view scoring criteria, solutions, and/or examples and to score the response.

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 Scoring Guide

Unit 5 Progress Check: FRQ 4

0 1 2 3

The response accurately includes all the following criteria.

1 point is earned for a multi-step derivation that takes the derivative of to find an equation for
in terms of the indicated quantities and physical constants, as appropriate.
Scoring note: It is not necessary to take the derivative correctly in order to earn this point.
Note: The correct equation is .
1 point is earned for

◦ setting Pulley ’s angular acceleration at equal to the angular acceleration either of Pulley
OR, equivalently, for a hanging rope weight of ,

AND

◦ solving for in terms of the indicated quantities and physical constants, as appropriate.

Note: The correct answer is

1 point is earned for correctly substituting the expression for into the equation for AND writing
in terms of the indicated quantities, excluding , and physical constants, as appropriate.
Note: The correct answer is .

Example Response for part (b)(i)

Angular acceleration is :

Example Response for part (b)(ii)

Initially, the torque is provided by a weight force of .

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 Scoring Guide

Unit 5 Progress Check: FRQ 4

Substituting for in the equation for :

Part C

Select a point value to view scoring criteria, solutions, and/or examples and to score the response.

0 1 2

The response accurately includes both of the following criteria.

1 point is earned for attempting to use functional dependence in the equation from part (b) by relating the
angular acceleration to and/or .
Scoring note: To earn this point it is not necessary to use the functional dependence correctly.
1 point is earned for a claim that is consistent with the equation from part (b), and a justification that
correctly uses the functional dependence in the equation from part (b).
Note: A correct equation in part (b) indicates that the angular acceleration is greater for Pulley .

Example Response

Pulley has a greater angular acceleration. In the equation from part (b), replacing with and replacing
with does not change the term in front of the exponentials. At a long time after the pulleys are released, the term
with the negative exponent is nearly zero and can be neglected. Looking at the term with the positive exponent, the greater
mass of Pulley makes the denominator of the exponent greater. The exponential term is then less for Pulley , so Pulley
has a greater angular acceleration.

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