Question

When calculating the displacement of a rolling body do we just calculate the displacement due to Vcom in a particular time t or additionally need to consider also the displacement that may be produced because of the rolling motion.

Answer 1

When calculating the displacement of a rolling body, both the displacement due to the velocity of the center of mass and the displacement due to the rolling motion need to be considered.

Step-by-step explanation:

When calculating the displacement of a rolling body, we need to consider both the displacement due to the velocity of the center of mass (Vcom) and the displacement due to the rolling motion. The displacement due to the rolling motion is equal to the product of the radius of the rolling body and the angle it has rolled through.

For example, if a cylindrical can of radius R is rolling without slipping and completes one revolution, the distance that its center of mass has moved is equal to the circumference of the can, which is 2πR.

Therefore, to calculate the total displacement, we add the displacement due to Vcom and the displacement due to the rolling motion.