Merry Go Round

Merry Go Round#

Mateo starts standing on the outer edge of a merry-go-round that is rotating at an angular velocity of \(\omega_0\). Mateo then starts walking towards the center, to the inside portion of the merry-go-round. You may assume the merry-go-round is rotating without friction.

An image of a merry-go-round (courtesy of Narelle Steckyj from Pixabay) is shown below.

A carnival ride that rotates in a circle, similar to a record player rotating.

Part 1#

Which of the following statement about the angular velocity of the merry-go-round is correct ?

Answer Section#

  • The merry-go-round’s moment of inertia is increasing.

  • Angular momentum is conserved.

  • The merry-go-round’s moment of inertia is decreasing.

  • The merry-go-round’s moment of inertia stays the same

  • Angular momentum is not conserved.

Part 2#

Which of the following choices are correct (select all that apply) after Mateo starts walking inwards on the merry-go-round?

Answer Section#

Attribution#

Problem is from the OpenStax University Physics Volume 1 textbook, licensed under the CC-BY 4.0 license.
Image representing the Creative Commons 4.0 BY license.