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Who can help me with a tricky problem ?

Posted: Sat Sep 22, 2012 5:17 am
by greatgzz
A problem rather tricky...Please help me (not so much as GRE.but still college mathematics)

A turn-of -the-century bicycle has a front wheel with a diameter of 6 feet and a back wheel
with a diameter of 2 feet. When the bicycle rolls 600 PI feet in a straight line,
a. How far does a point on the tread of the back tire travel?
b. How far does a point on the tread of the front tire travel?
Justify your answers to (a) and (b).

Re: Who can help me with a tricky problem ?

Posted: Sat Sep 22, 2012 5:19 am
by vonLipwig
This looks awfully like a question that you might have been assigned as homework, to me. Is it?

Re: Who can help me with a tricky problem ?

Posted: Sat Sep 22, 2012 5:22 am
by greatgzz
vonLipwig wrote:This looks awfully like a question that you might have been assigned as homework, to me. Is it?

Sort of !!! it really drives me crazy...sigh...

Re: Who can help me with a tricky problem ?

Posted: Sat Sep 22, 2012 3:24 pm
by Topoltergeist
I would experimentally verify my answer for this problem. I've always wanted to ride one of those crazy bikes ...

Re: Who can help me with a tricky problem ?

Posted: Sat Sep 22, 2012 6:16 pm
by greatgzz
Topoltergeist wrote:I would experimentally verify my answer for this problem. I've always wanted to ride one of those crazy bikes ...

Wow...look forward to some insights about it
!!! :D

Re: Who can help me with a tricky problem ?

Posted: Thu Sep 27, 2012 2:36 am
by malaka
Topoltergeist wrote:I would experimentally verify my answer for this problem. I've always wanted to ride one of those crazy bikes ...
Really i am also crazy for rideing.

Re: Who can help me with a tricky problem ?

Posted: Thu Sep 27, 2012 11:28 am
by tarheel
greatgzz wrote:A problem rather tricky...Please help me (not so much as GRE.but still college mathematics)

A turn-of -the-century bicycle has a front wheel with a diameter of 6 feet and a back wheel
with a diameter of 2 feet. When the bicycle rolls 600 PI feet in a straight line,
a. How far does a point on the tread of the back tire travel?
b. How far does a point on the tread of the front tire travel?
Justify your answers to (a) and (b).
a. The back wheel rolls $$600\pi /2\pi =300$$ cycles. For each cycle, the distance that the point moves equals to the length of the cycloid, which equals 4*diameter=8 feet. Totally, it travels 8*300=2400 feet.

b. Using the same method as a). The answer is the same.