1. The problem statement, all variables and given/known data 4) In order to determine the moment of inertia I of a rotating platform, a string is wrapped around a spool of radius r = 2.0 cm beneath the platform. The string is then fed over a pulley with a hanging mass attached to its end. The hanging mass is then released from rest, and its linear acceleration is measured. A.) If the hanging mass is M = 100 g, and its linear acceleration is a = 2.5 m/s2, what is the moment of inertia I of the rotating platform? B.) Using the same rotating platform as in problem 1, a ball of mass m = 50 g is launched into the catcher on top of the platform. After the ball is caught by the catcher, the angular velocity of the system is ω = 2.2 rad/s. If the catcher is R = 20 cm away from the axis of rotation of the platform, what is the linear velocity v of the ball before it is caught? 2. Relevant equations FT = M(g-a) α = a/r I = (rFT)/α vo = ([itex]\omega[/itex]r2M(g-a))/amR 3. The attempt at a solution For part a, I used the first two equations to solve for the tension force and angular acceleration, then plugged the values into the third equation to solve for inertia. The answer I got was 1.17x10-4 kgm2 (If you could verify this, that would be great! For part b I am not sure where to begin, because there are too many unknowns. I can't figure out a way to combine any of the equations to solve for any of the unknowns either. Thanks in advance for your help!