A penny rides on top of a piston as it undergoes vertical simple harmonic motion with an amplitude of 4.0cm. If the frequency is low, the penny rides up and down without difficulty. If the frequency is steadily increased, there comes a point at which the penny leaves the surface. A) At what point in the cycle does the penny first lose contact with the piston?midpoint moving uplowest pointhighest pointmidpoint moving downB) What is the maximum frequency for which the penny just barely remains in place for the full cycle?Express your answer with the appropriate units.

the penny loses contact at the piston's highest point.

f = 2.5 Hz

Explanation:

Concepts and Principles  

1- Newton's Second Law: The net force F on a body with mass m is related to the body's acceleration a by  

∑F = ma                                                          (1)  

2- The maximum transverse acceleration of a particle in simple harmonic motion is found in terms of the angular speed w and the amplitude A as follows:  

a_max = -w^2A                                                (2)  

3- The angular frequency w of a wave is related to the frequency f by:  

w = 2π f                                                              (3)  

Given Data  

- The amplitude of the piston is: A = (4.0 cm) ( 1/ 100 cm)=  0.04 m.  

- The frequency of oscillation of the piston is steadily increased.

Required Data

In part (a), we are asked to determine the point at which the penny first loses contact with the piston.  

In part (b), we are asked to determine the maximum frequency for which the penny just barely remains in place for a full cycle.  

Solution  

(a)  

The free-body diagram in Figure 1 shows the forces acting on the penny; mi is the gravitational force exerted by the Earth on the penny andrt is the normal contact force exerted by the piston on the penny.  

figure 1 is attached

Apply Newton's second law from Equation (1) in the vertical direction to the penny:  

∑F_y -mg= ma        

Solve for n=m(g+a) The penny loses contact with the surface of the oscillating piston when the normal force n exerted by the piston is zero. So  

0 = m(g + a)

a = —g  

Therefore, the penny loses contact with the piston when the piston starts accelerating downwards. The piston first acceleratesdownward at its highest point and hence the penny loses contact at the piston's highest point.

(b)  

The maximum acceleration of the penny at the highest point of the piston is found from Equation (2):  

a = —w^2A  

where a = —g at the highest point. So  

g = w^2A  

Solve for w:  

w =√g/A

Substitute for w from Equation (3):

2πf =  √g/A

Solve for f :  

f = 1/2π√g/A

Substitute numerical values:  

f = 1/2π√9.8 m/s^2/0.04

f = 2.5 Hz

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