Chapter 10, Problem 10.74AP

A bicycle is turned upside down while its owner repairs a flat tire on the rear wheel. A friend spins the front wheel, of radius 0.381 m, and observes that drops of water fly off tangentially in an upward direction when the drops are at the same level as the center of the wheel. She measures the height reached by drops moving vertically (Fig. P10.74 on page 332). A drop that breaks loose from the tire on one turn rises h = 54.0 cm above the tangent point. A drop that breaks loose on the next turn rises 51.0 cm above the tangent point. The height to which the drops rise decreases because the angular speed of the wheel decreases. From this information, determine the magnitude of the average angular acceleration of the wheel.