In Unit 7 of the AP Physics 1 student workbook. Question 7M : Massive Pulley
In the question there is a stationary pulley with a constant mass hanging
off. As the pulley unwinds the radius also decreases.
In part C of the question the answer key explains that rotational
acceleration will decrease as the pulley unwinds due to less Torque. I'm
confused here. Yes there is less torque but if Torque = I x α, and I =
1/2MR^2, then moment of inertiaA decreases even more, so doesn't angular
acceleration go up. A 1/2 drop in radius causes Torque to drop in half but
inertia to drop 4 times. So, doesn't alpha double (assuming we neglect mass
change).
Am I missing something?
Thanks in advance.
Michael Barr
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