Roger the Badger is set to leave Boston on Flight 473. As he is traveling to compete at the 32nd annual Vole Eating Contest in Muskogee, Oklahoma, he is forced to suffer the insult of having to travel in a carrying case — while his ridiculous (and Roger suspects, mentally inferior) handler gets to ride in the full comfort of an airline seat.

As if all this were not bad enough, just as Roger is passed through the X-ray machine at security, the hinges on his carrier come open, leaving the poor dear traveling on a conveyor heading for a swift downward curve. If Roger weighs 15 lb and the conveyor is traveling at θ ft/sec, what is the angle u at which Roger begins to leave the surface?

Send solutions to msdeditor@penton.com by November 15, 2006. September's solution prize, and prizewinner are posted at our newly designed website, www.motionsystemdesign.com.

Win Mathcad 13 software

The winner of this month's problem will receive the Mathcad Version 13 software package from Mathsoft Engineering and Education Inc., a PTC company. Mathcad calculates, models, and documents mathematical formulas, methods, and values. For additional information, call (800) 628-4223 or visit webstore.mathsoft.com.

Mathcad 13

• Combines live math formulas, text, and interactive graphics in a single worksheet

• Integrates data across applications and systems

• Plots two and three-dimensional graphs

• Unit-aware math notation lets users document calculations

• Automatic unit checking reduces errors in work