ISSUES RELATED TO THE PROBLEM

To start with make sure the length of the stick is greater than the diameter of the wheel as prescribed in 1 - 10. We consider a wheel of radius r = 10 cm and a stick of length l = 40. In general prescribe l >= 2r for this problem.

Be sure the problem solvers understand the physical situation - a model of cardboad may be appropriate to get the feel for the wheel/stick configuration. The stick is attached to the edge of the wheel with a pin which permits it to freely move while the wheel roles along a flat surface (say the x-axis). In fact, as the wheel turns along the flat surface one end of the stick merely drags along the surface while the other end (attached to the pin) rides up and down.

There are three components to the horizontal position of the tip of the stick. Imagine the wheel is fixed first and write a position function for the pin contact point between wheel and stick and then add the rolling part.