Question

Suppose a 185 kg motorcycle is heading toward a hill at a speed of 32 m/s. The two wheels weigh 12 kg each and are each annular rings with an inner radius of 0.280 m and an outer radius of 0.330 m

Part (a) How high can it coast up the hill, if you neglect friction in m?

Part (b) How much energy is lost to friction if the motorcycle only gains an altitude of 39 m before coming to rest?

Answer 1

Kinetic energy of motorcycle at the bottom is equal to gravitational potential energy ( mgh ) at top. m is mass of motorcycle, h is maximum height attained.

Kinetic energy = Translational kinetic energy + Rotational kinetic energy of wheels.