Question

A child is riding a tricycle along a straight horizontal road. The pedals are attached directly to the front wheel, which has a radius of 15 cm. The rear wheels are smaller and have a radius of 8 cm. There is no slip between the wheels and the road surface. If the child is pedaling at 16 rpm (revolutions per minute), then the angular speed of the rear wheels is closest to:

Answer 1

Angular speed of rear wheel = 3.1425 rad/s

Step-by-step explanation:

N1 = 16 rpm

w1 angular speed of big wheel = 2¶N/60 = (2 x 3.142 x 16)/60 = 1.676 rad/s

R1 = radius of big wheel = 15 cm = 15x10^-2 = 0.15 m

R2 = radius of small wheel = 8 cm = 0.08 m

w2 =?

Using w1R1 = w2R2

1.676 x 0.15 = w2 x 0.08

0.2514 = 0.08w2

w2 = 0.2514/0.08 = 3.1425 rad/s