Two monkeys - rope swing vs free fall · CAP 2004 #Q3
Physics · mechanics
Problem
Two monkeys with the same mass stand on a branch at height h above the horizontal jungle floor. Monkey A steps off the branch holding the end of an inextensible rope of length L whose other end is tied to another branch at height H, lets go at the bottom of the swing, and falls freely to the floor, as shown below. Monkey B steps off and falls straight downward. Then, neglecting air resistance but not the tension in the rope, the total work W done on each monkey and the speed v with which each hits the floor are as follows:
[Figure: Shows two monkeys A and B, with A swinging on rope of length L from height H, and both monkeys falling to height h]
(a) WA<WB, vA<vB; (b) WA=WB, vA<vB;
(c) WA=WB, vA=vB; (d) WA<WB, vA=vB.