Each rolling wheel of a railroad train is tapered. Compared with the wide part, the narrow part of the wheel has a tangential speed that is
A)less.
B)greater.
C)the same for both.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The tangential speed of a point on a rotating object is given by v = rω, where v is the tangential speed, r is the radius of rotation, and ω is the angular velocity. Since the narrow part of the wheel has a smaller radius than the wide part, its tangential speed will be smaller according to this equation. Therefore, the correct choice is (A) less.

Each Rolling Wheel of a Railroad Train Is Tapered