PHYSICS 1301W LABORATORY REPORT

Laboratory VII

Name and ID#: Mason Trang

Date performed: December 3, 2009 Day/Time section meets: Thursdays 2:30-4:25PM
Lab Partners’ Names: David Williams
Beatrice McLeester
Joe Beaudoin
Problem # and Title: Problem 2, Moments of Inertia about Different Axes
Lab Instructor : Yan Yin

Title
 Moments of Inertia about Different Axes
December 3rd, 2009
Performed by: Mason Trang, David Williams, Joe Beaudoin, Beatrice McLeester
TA Name: Yan Yin

Statement of the Problem

We are asked determine whether a coin’s moment of inertia spinning on its edge is the same as if
it were spinning about an axis through its center and perpendicular to its surface.

We used a lab system that included a disk mounted on a low-friction stand with a rotating spool
and shaft. The spool was strung over a pulley to a mass hanging over the table. When the mass
was released, the disk would spin at with a constant acceleration. The disk was able to spin
about two different axes to represent the coin. It could spin about its central axis or about its
diameter. The problem of this lab was to determine whether the moment of inertia changes as
the axes are changes.

The following is a diagram of the system with two different axes:

Axis Through Center of Disk Axis Through Diameter of Disk

Total Inertia = ITotal1 Total Inertia = ITotal2
Acceleration of Hanging Mass = a1 Acceleration of Hanging Mass = a2

Prediction
We predicted that the moments of inertia for different axes would be different. To compare the
two total inertias, we must gather information about the acceleration, radii, and masses involved.
To calculate the total inertia of the disk-spool-shaft system (ITotal) we can form a more simplified
equation. The equation for ITotal can be found by the following:

Force on the Hanging Mass:

FNET = Fg - T or ma = mg - T
So, T = ma - mg or T = m(a - g)

Acceleration of the Hanging Mass on the System:

= or a=α r

Torque Equations:
 = Iα or τ = Fr, since F = T, =Tr
So, Iα = Tr or I=

Substitution for T and  :

Total Inertia: ITotal = I =

Experiment and Results

To represent the situation, we setup system consisting a stand, disk, shaft, spool, pulley, hanging
mass, and string. The hanging mass was hung over a pulley of low friction and attached to the
spool of the rotating system. The mass of the disk, shaft, spool, and hanging mass were kept
constant. The only variable in the procedure was the change in axis. Although the axis was the
only variable that was changed, it produced a constant acceleration of the hanging mass. We
used provided video equipment to record the mass as it descended downward. Using software,
we found the acceleration of the hanging mass. The acceleration of the mass (a) was translated
into angular acceleration (α ) in the rotational system. This helped us more easily calculate the
total inertia of the system. To solve for the total inertia of the system (ITotal), used measured
values and the collected acceleration of the hanging mass (a).

The following chart shows measured values or mass and radius:

Mass Radius
Disk = mdisk 1.389kg Disk = rdisk .115m
Shaft = mshaft .2225kg Shaft = rshaft .0065m
Hanging Mass = mhanging .250kg Spool = rspool .018m
Using the following graphs and equations, we can observe the collected acceleration of the
hanging mass:

Velocity vs. Time Velocity vs. Time

(Axis Through Center of Disk) (Axis Through Diameter of Disk)

Motion of Hanging Mass with Axis through Center of Disk

Position

Velocity

Acceleration (a1)

Motion of Hanging Mass with Axis through Diameter of Disk

Position

Velocity
Acceleration (a2)

Given our equation for ITotal, we can calculate moments of inertia for each varied axis to give us
experimental values:

Moment of Inertia = ITotal1

(Axis Through Center of Disk)
ITotal1 =
 kg m2

ITotal1 kg m2

Moment of Inertia = ITotal2

(Axis Through Diameter of Disk)
ITotal2 =

kg m2

ITotal2 kg m2

We can calculate expected values for ITotal by adding the moments of inertia of each component of
the rotating system. ITotal is given by the following:

ITotal = Idisk + Ispool + Ishaft

Each moment of inertia can be found by the equations:

The exception is the moment of inertia for the disk with the axis through the diameter.
Its moment of inertia can be found by:

Moment of Inertia of Disk

Idisk1 = mdisk(rdisk)2 Idisk2 = mdisk(rdisk)2

Idisk1 = (1.389kg)(.115m)2 Idisk2 = (1.389kg)(.115m)2

Idisk1 = .00918kg m2 Idisk2 = .0045923813kg m2

Moment of Inertia of Spool

Ispool = mspool(rspool)2

Ispool = (0)(.018m)2 mspool0 *The mass of the spool was negligible

Ispool = 0kg m2

Moment of Inertia of Shaft

Ishaft = mshaft(rshaft)2

Ishaft = (.2225kg)(.0065m)2

Ishaft =4.7003125x10-6kg m2

Moment of Inertia of System (Total)

ITotal1 = Idisk1 + Ispool + Ishaft
=(.00918kg m2) + (0 kg m2) + (4.7003125x10-6kg m2)

=.0091895kg m2

ITotal2 = Idisk2 + Ispool + Ishaft

=(.0045923813kg m2) + (0kg m2) + (4.7003125x10-6kg m2)

=.0045971kg m2
 We can compare the experimental and calculated values for the total moment of inertia of each
system in the following table:

Moment of Inertia of System

Axis through Center of Disk Axis through Diameter of Disk
Experimental .0089395 kgm
2 .0049431 kgm
2
Expected .0091895 kgm
2 .0045971 kgm
2

Percent Error for Axis through Center of Disk

Percent Error for Axis through Diameter of Disk

We found percent error by using measured(experimental) and calculated(expected) values for the
moment of inertia. Due to the fact that we had two sets of numbers, I calculated percent error for
both values of moment of inertia. It was important to do this because we needed to see
experimental error for each of the numbers we were testing for.

The uncertainty in this experiment may have been caused by human error in measuring, but it
was definitely not the primary source. The error may have been caused by friction in the system.
Friction may have played a role within the pulley system or the rotating stand. The spool was
considered to have negligible mass, so it may have also affected our values. Although there was
a slight margin of error, our experimental values remained closed to the expected or calculated
values.

Conclusions
After doing this experiment, we proved our prediction to be correct. The values produced by the
experiment show that the moment of inertia changes as the axis of rotation is changed. We
found margin of error in our experiment, but both our expected and experimental values confirm
that the moment of inertia changes.

Given the results of this experiment, we can see that the moment of inertia changes as the
rotational axis is changed. As we saw in our calculated values, the axis changes the equation
needed to calculate moment of inertia. This simple fact can help us easily conclude that
rotational axis is a factor in total moment of inertia of a system. By doing this experiment, we
can also conclude that spinning a coin on a different rotational axis will yield a different moment
of inertia.

References
No references were used for this report.