Which is faster, a thin disc or a hoop? A snowball accumulating
more and more snow or an unraveling garden hose? Use the animation below to find
out. How does the mass or radius of an object affect the time that it takes an
object to reach the bottom of the slope? Use this animation to answer these and
other questions by doing the following-
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Choose an object for each of the two hills. Click on one of
the 6 radio buttons on the left side of the animation in order to select
which object you wish to have slide down the left hand slope and click on
one of the 6 radio buttons on the right side of the animation in order to
select which object you wish to have slide down the right hand slope.
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Click on the buttons marked properties in order to set the
characteristics of the two objects.
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Drag the objects in order to set the initial locations of
the objects.
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Press play.
Keep in mind the following when using this animation-
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The elevation of an object is measured from the center of
the object.
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The clocks measure time in virtual seconds and not actual
seconds.
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Each object's clock will stop when the object's elevation is
equal to zero (the bottom of the hill). In general, the clock will over
estimate the time that it takes for a given object to reach the bottom of
the hill by 0.1 virtual seconds.
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The animation ignores dissipative forces.
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