Question

A playground merry-go-round spins about its axis with negligible friction. A child moves from the center of the merry-go-round to the rim. For this system, indicate which of the following quantities change.

A. Potential energy
B. Angular momentum
C. Mass
D. Moment of inertia
E. Angular speed
F. Rotational kinetic energy

Answer 1

In the scenario of a child moving from the center to the rim of a merry-go-round, the moment of inertia increases, the angular speed decreases, and the rotational kinetic energy changes. Angular momentum remains constant, and mass remains unchanged.

Step-by-step explanation:

When a child moves from the center of a merry-go-round to the rim, certain physical quantities of the system change. Specifically:

• Moment of inertia increases because the distance of the mass (the child) from the rotation axis increases, which increases the resistance to angular acceleration.
• Angular speed decreases due to the conservation of angular momentum, assuming no external torques act on the system.
• Rotational kinetic energy changes because both the moment of inertia and angular speed change.

Potential energy does not change significantly here as the height above the ground does not change for the child. The angular momentum of the system remains constant due to the conservation of angular momentum. The mass of the system also remains the same.

Answer 2

B

Step-by-step explanation:

In this process on merry go round there is not any external torque so angular momentum will be conserve. Mass is always conserved.