A wheel rotates about a horizontal axis, as shown in the figure. It has an outer radius R1 = 18.8 cm and mass M1 = 4.51 kg. Attached to it concentrically is a hub (shown cross-hatched) of radius R2 = 5.26 cm and mass M2 = 1.16 kg. The axle has negligible radius and mass. Both the wheel and the hub are solid and have uniform density. Suspended from a massless string that is wound around the hub is a weight of mass m = 512 g.
a) What is the acceleration of the hanging weight after it is released?
m/s2
b) When the weight has fallen a distance 75.3 cm, what is the kinetic energy of the rotating wheel?
J