Final answer:
The student's question pertains to the moment of inertia for different physical systems comprising disks of different sizes. To have the same moment of inertia as a system with two larger disks, system B must also include four smaller disks along with one large disk.
Step-by-step explanation:
The question is essentially asking about the moment of inertia for two different physical systems, A and B, that are made up of disks with different radii but the same mass. According to the parallel axis theorem, the moment of inertia of a solid disk about an axis perpendicular to the disk through its center is ½MR² for a disk with radius R. Therefore, for system A which consists of two larger disks each with radius 2R, the total moment of inertia would be 2(½M(2R)²) = 4MR².
For system B to have the same moment of inertia as system A, the combined moment of inertia of the larger disk and the smaller disks must also equal 4MR². Considering the larger disk in system B, it contributes ½M(2R)² to the moment of inertia, and each smaller disk with radius R contributes ½MR². If there are 'n' smaller disks in system B, then their combined moment of inertia would be n(½MR²). We can now set up the equation: 4MR² = 2MR² + n(½MR²).
Upon simplification, we find that n = 4. This indicates that there are four smaller disks in system B when it has the same moment of inertia as system A.