A metal can containing condensed mushroom soup has mass 215 g, height 10.8 cm, and diameter 6.38 cm. It is placed at rest on its side at the top of a 3.00-m-long incline that is at 25.08 to the horizontal and is then released to roll straight down. It reaches the bottom of the incline after 1.50 s.
(a) Assuming mechanical energy conservation, calculate the moment of inertia of the can.
(b) Which pieces of data, if any, are unnecessary for calculating the solution?
(c) Why can’t the moment of inertia be calculated from I = 12mr^2 for the cylindrical can?