bonanova Posted June 3, 2009 Report Share Posted June 3, 2009 Somewhat in the vein of a previous Professor's riddle, another physics Prof proffered this puzzle: Two cats sat on a tin roof. One slid off. Which one didn't? The answer is not "the other one." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 random7 Posted June 3, 2009 Report Share Posted June 3, 2009 Bravo. You gave a highly cogent, complete and lucid explanation. You did everything except give the [what now should be embarrassingly obvious] answer. Sorry, the answer is: The Sphynx cat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 Guest Posted June 3, 2009 Report Share Posted June 3, 2009 Something like...The cat that did not fall had a higher coefficient of friction (or furriction)? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 bonanova Posted June 3, 2009 Author Report Share Posted June 3, 2009 Something like...The cat that did not fall had a higher coefficient of friction (or furriction)? Soooooooooo close. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 random7 Posted June 3, 2009 Report Share Posted June 3, 2009 Bravo. You gave a highly cogent, complete and lucid explanation. You did everything except give the [what now should be embarrassingly obvious] answer. Wait... I did answer it. Quote: "The one that didn't fall was a Sphynx..." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 bonanova Posted June 3, 2009 Author Report Share Posted June 3, 2009 Wait... I did answer it. Quote: "The one that didn't fall was a Sphynx..." Not necessarily. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 Guest Posted June 3, 2009 Report Share Posted June 3, 2009 Is the answer...... "two" Thought process...... If "one fell off" then only "two" is left sitting safely. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 Guest Posted June 3, 2009 Report Share Posted June 3, 2009 the one without fur? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 bonanova Posted June 3, 2009 Author Report Share Posted June 3, 2009 Is the answer...... "two" Thought process...... If "one fell off" then only "two" is left sitting safely. Nope. That would make three. One of the cats slid off. Which of the cats did not? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 random7 Posted June 3, 2009 Report Share Posted June 3, 2009 Somewhat in the vein of a previous Professor's riddle, another physics Prof proffered this puzzle: Two cats sat on a tin roof. One slid off. Which one didn't? The answer is not "the other one." Ok, last try before admitting defeat, as I mustn't know the answer (which I thought I did). Two cats sat on a tin roof. One slid off. Which one didn't? The one with high enough coefficient of friction. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 random7 Posted June 3, 2009 Report Share Posted June 3, 2009 (edited) Not necessarily. Ooooooooh, I see what you mean. The Sphynx cat. Edit: I already said that earlier. So disregard this post. Edited June 3, 2009 by random7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 Guest Posted June 3, 2009 Report Share Posted June 3, 2009 Isn't this a popular math teacher joke? 2 cats on a roof, which falls off? Answer: The one with the smallest mu. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 random7 Posted June 3, 2009 Report Share Posted June 3, 2009 Isn't this a popular math teacher joke? 2 cats on a roof, which falls off? Answer: The one with the smallest mu. lol, that's funny Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 bonanova Posted June 3, 2009 Author Report Share Posted June 3, 2009 Isn't this a popular math teacher joke? 2 cats on a roof, which falls off? Answer: The one with the smallest mu. Bingo. , as alluded in the OP."] F = [Greek letter mu] N Where N is the normal force and F is the frictional force. So the one that did not slide off is the one with the bigger [or higher] "mew". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 Guest Posted June 3, 2009 Report Share Posted June 3, 2009 but mu isnt pronounce like meow (which i guess is suppose to be the pun) also this is suppose to be a pun puzzle so if i got the pun part of the answer isnt the rest just a more clever slash different way of saying it or is the whole pun not fur-iction the one that had to much static in his fur-iction or furiction had too much static or the one with higher static fur-iction (like a staticy fur i mean) or the one that had just rubbed a balloon on himself and got to much static furiction or the one god saved from dieing because he worshiped jesus and had never (im gonna stop myself here) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 bonanova Posted June 3, 2009 Author Report Share Posted June 3, 2009 Isn't this a popular math teacher joke? 2 cats on a roof, which falls off? Answer: The one with the smallest mu. Bingo. F = [Greek letter mu] N Where N is the normal force and F is the frictional force. So the one that did not slide off is the one with the bigger [or higher] "mew". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 Guest Posted June 3, 2009 Report Share Posted June 3, 2009 I think it might have something to do with the weight of the cats. I think the thinner cat won't fall. Because since they are sitting on the physically identical roofs, the only thing that can cause changes is the frictional force.The fatter cat will produce more velocity on falling from roof because of its weight and will totally excceed the frictional force which lets them to stay on the roof and so it will fall from the roof. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 Guest Posted June 3, 2009 Report Share Posted June 3, 2009 if i remember physics I right (havent taken it since freshmen year of college) the force equation for the cats is static friction force has to be over come so its the... weight of the cat into the roof times friction= the force along the roof (this is the moment before its overcome) so (g)sin(theta)(mass)(mu)=cos(theta)g(mass) so all the matters is sin(theta)mu=cos(theta) or is less than obviously so mass doesnt matter all that matters is as theta gets bigger mu can get bigger (obviously it doesnt change im saying for the cat to still fall it could theoretically be bigger) specifically mu can be almost equal to cotan(theta) or smaller so anyway the angles are the same so mu's are different (i dont know y bad puns anger me they just do) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 Guest Posted June 3, 2009 Report Share Posted June 3, 2009 ruling out furrction... One cat was facing away from the peak of the slope, while the other was facing the peak of the slope. Due to the way cats sit, this caused their centers of gravity to differ greatly. The one facing the peak formed closer to a 45 degree angle with the slope (toward the peak-side), resulting in a more stable center of gravity. The one facing the edge would appear to "lean forward," causing a near-perpendicular angle with the slope, causing his center of gravity to pull him forward (toward the edge). Therefore, the cat that did NOT fall off the roof was the one that was facing the slope. thoughts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 Guest Posted June 3, 2009 Report Share Posted June 3, 2009 ... maybe i should read spoilers prior to posting, now knowing its a phsyics-pun question oh well, i still like my answer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 Guest Posted June 3, 2009 Report Share Posted June 3, 2009 "The other one" is ruled out in the Hint. Furrriction properties definitely are involved. Getting close. Let's assume the cats sit on physically identical roofs. It's something about the cats themselves that makes the difference. One cat has claws and the other had them removed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 Guest Posted June 3, 2009 Report Share Posted June 3, 2009 The alive one doesn't slide. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 Guest Posted June 3, 2009 Report Share Posted June 3, 2009 Puss 'n Boots--he didn't burn his paws on the hot tin roof. Or, perhaps a Tennessee Williams fan--had to keep in line with the title Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 Guest Posted June 3, 2009 Report Share Posted June 3, 2009 I LOVE Physics! ...bigger Mu! (or mew )... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 Guest Posted June 3, 2009 Report Share Posted June 3, 2009 (edited) "The other one" is ruled out in the Hint. Furrriction properties definitely are involved. Getting close. Let's assume the cats sit on physically identical roofs. It's something about the cats themselves that makes the difference. The one fatter one but what ipsherman said rocks Edited June 3, 2009 by adiace Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 Guest Posted June 3, 2009 Report Share Posted June 3, 2009 alright, I don't think it's been said yet, but under the assumption that the one who did not fall was a sphinx, I'd like to point out that sphinxes have wings and can presumably fly or at least keep themselves aloft or in this scenario atop roofs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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bonanova
Somewhat in the vein of a previous Professor's riddle,
another physics Prof proffered this puzzle:
Two cats sat on a tin roof. One slid off.
Which one didn't?
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