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30 votes
By moving her arms outward, an ice skater speeds up a spin, while moving her arms inward slows down a spin. Is this true or false?

User Diolor
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1 Answer

17 votes
17 votes

Answer:

False

Step-by-step explanation:

In the motion of the ice skater, there is conservation of the angular momentum which is equal to the moment of inertia times the angular velocity. When she moves her arms outward, she increases its inertia, so if the angular momentum is constant, her speed will slow down.

Therefore, the statement is false because by moving her arms outward, an ice skater slows down a spin, while moving her arms inward speeds up a spin.

User Feng Liu
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