MCQEasyJEE 2023Moment of Inertia & Radius of Gyration

JEE Physics 2023 Question with Solution

A light rope is wound around a hollow cylinder of mass 5kg5 \, \text{kg} and radius 70cm70 \, \text{cm}. The rope is pulled with a force of 52.5N52.5 \, \text{N}. The angular acceleration of the cylinder will be _____

  • A

    1.5rad/s21.5 \, \text{rad/s}^2

  • B

    5rad/s25 \, \text{rad/s}^2

  • C

    10rad/s210 \, \text{rad/s}^2

  • D

    15rad/s215 \, \text{rad/s}^2

Answer

Correct answer:D

Step-by-step solution

Standard Method

Given: mass of the hollow cylinder m=5kgm = 5 \, \text{kg}, radius R=70cm=0.7mR = 70 \, \text{cm} = 0.7 \, \text{m}, and pulling force F=52.5NF = 52.5 \, \text{N}.

Find: the angular acceleration α\alpha of the cylinder.

The torque acting on the hollow cylinder is

τ=FR\tau = FR

For a hollow cylinder about its axis, the moment of inertia is

I=mR2I = mR^2

Using rotational dynamics,

α=τI\alpha = \frac{\tau}{I}

Substituting τ=FR\tau = FR and I=mR2I = mR^2,

α=FRmR2\alpha = \frac{FR}{mR^2}

So,

α=FmR\alpha = \frac{F}{mR}

Now substitute the values,

α=52.550.7=52.53.5=15rad/s2\alpha = \frac{52.5}{5 \cdot 0.7} = \frac{52.5}{3.5} = 15 \, \text{rad/s}^2

Therefore, the angular acceleration of the cylinder is 15rad/s215 \, \text{rad/s}^2. The correct option is D.

The answer key lists option AA, but the solution explicitly concludes 15rad/s215 \, \text{rad/s}^2, so the solution is used as the authority.

Common mistakes

  • Using the moment of inertia of a solid cylinder, I=12mR2I = \frac{1}{2}mR^2, is incorrect here because the question clearly says hollow cylinder. Use I=mR2I = mR^2 instead.

  • Not converting the radius from 70cm70 \, \text{cm} to 0.7m0.7 \, \text{m} gives a wrong numerical value. Always convert to SI units before substitution.

  • Calculating torque incorrectly as τ=F\tau = F instead of τ=FR\tau = FR ignores the lever arm. The applied force acts at radius RR, so torque must include the radius.

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