Variations on the Frictionless Inclined Plane Problem

Most introductory physics texts1 describe the motion of an object moving down an inclined plane. Different types of objects such as blocks sliding, balls or cylinders rolling,2 or boxes tumbling3 down the incline have been investigated in depth. One study4 looked at a block sliding down an inclined plane with the plane resting on a frictionless surface. Another study5 shows a calculation of the maximum horizontal speed of a ball rolling down an incline as a function of the angle of inclination of the plane. In this paper we present calculations of the time required for an object to slide down a frictionless inclined plane as a function of the angle of inclination. In addition, we include variations of this problem in which the length of the incline is changed.