Experiment 103: Moment of Inertia

Analysis

Moment of inertia, also known as rotational inertia, is a scalar

quantity which tells us how difficult it is to change the rotational velocity

of the object around a given rotational axis. The moment of inertia of an

object is a calculated measure for a rigid body that is undergoing rotational

motion around a fixed axis.

It also is also one of the sub-topics in the study of rotation of rigid

bodies, and an important theory in the study of engineering mechanics that

requires comprehensive and detailed analysis of moments in both static

and dynamic bodies. As of now, all the ideas to be discussed shall only be

talking about rigid bodies. For us to fully understand the idea of moment

of inertia, some important topics shall be discussed first such as the angular

velocity and acceleration, rotational kinematics, and rotational energy.

Now, rigid body is defined as a definite amount of matter the parts of

which are fixed in position relative to each other. In reality, solid bodies are

never rigid because they deform under the action of forces. In many cases,

this deformation is negligible compared to the size of the body and the
body may be assumed rigid. Bodies made of steel or cast iron are some

example of rigid bodies. Even the human body is a system of rigid bodies

that is composed of several segments which brings in the fact that the

human body is a simple collection of rigid bodies. In the study of special

relativity, a perfectly rigid body does not exist, and objects can only be

assumed to be rigid if they are not moving near the speed of light. In

quantum mechanics, a rigid body is usually thought of as a collection of

point masses. Furthermore, the study based on the deformation of these

bodies is called strength of materials, which will be discuss more in

Engineering Mechanics.

In order for to have a better understanding of rigid bodies and its

relationship with the moment of inertia, it is important to understand the

theories and concepts of rotational kinematics and its relationship to the

rigid bodies and moment of inertia. It is also important in analyzing

rotational motion. Rotational motion occurs if every particle in the body

moves in a circle about a single line and This line is called the axis of

rotation. Furthermore, there is also a first rule to think about the rigid body

that rotates about a fixed axis. A fixed axis is an axis that is at rest in some
inertial frame of reference and does not change direction relative to that

frame.

Figure 1. A Rigid Rotating about a Fixed axis (Speedometer)

In Figure 1, it shows a rigid body rotating about a fixed axis or the

axis of rotation. The axis passes through point O and is perpendicular to

the plane of the diagram. One way to describe the rotation of this body

would be to choose a particular point P on the body and to keep track x-

and y-coordinates of this point. However, it is not very convenient method,

since it takes two numbers to specific the rotational position of the body.
Instead, a method that is more convenient is by the getting the angle θ in

between the +x-axis and a line OP that is fixed in the body and rotates with

it. This angle θ will be called a coordinate for rotation. The angular

coordinate θ of a rigid body rotating around a fixed axis can be positive or

negative. The angle θ is positive if the positive angles to be measured is

counterclockwise from the positive x-axis. On the other hand, it would

negative if the rotation would be clockwise. It is important to remember

that, in describing rotational motion, the most natural way to measure the

angle θ is in radians (rad). The formula for calculating the angle θ of a

rotating

rigid body

is shown in

Equation (1), where θ is the angle of rotation, or known as the angular

displacement, s is the arc length of the circle of the rotation, and r is the

radius of the circle.

The same as the concept of rectilinear kinematics, in angular

kinematics, the angular velocity is defined as the rate of change of angular

displacement over the rate of change of time. In Equation (2), the definition

of angular velocity as the derivative of θ with respect to t is shown,

wherein the θ is the angular displacement and t is the time. Different points

on a rotating rigid body move different distances in a given time interval,

depending on how far each point lies from the rotation axis. But because

the body is rigid, all points rotate through the same angle in the same time.

Hence at any instant, every part of a rotating rigid body has the same

angular velocity. The angular velocity is positive if the body is rotating in

the direction of increasing θ and negative if it is rotating in the direction of

decreasing θ. If the angle θ is in radians, the unit of angular velocity is the

radian per second (rad/s). Other units, such as the revolution per minute

(rev/min or rpm) and rotation per second (rotation/second), are both often

used. Two useful conversions are 1 rev/s = 2π rad/s and 1 rev/min = 1

rpm = (2π/60) rads/s; both are from the idea of 1 rev = 2π rad.
 At the same time, when it comes rotational kinematics, the

acceleration takes on a form called angular acceleration. Angular

acceleration is defined as the change in angular velocity with respect to

time, as shown in Equation (3). Like in rectilinear kinematics, rotational

kinematics still uses the same four basic kinematic equations but instead of

normal

acceleration and velocity, it is replaced with angular acceleration and

angular velocity. In addition, the displacement is replaced with angular

displacement. The equations shown in Equations (4), (5), (6), and (7) are the

four basic and fundamental equations in rotational kinematics.

 Now, in general, rotational kinematics can be co-relate to linear

kinematics. In terms of linear speed in a rigid-body rotation, when a rigid

body rotates about a fixed axis, every particle in the body moves in a

circular path. The circle lies in a plane perpendicular to the axis and it is

centered on the axis. The speed of a particle is directly proportional to the

body’s angular velocity; thus, the faster the body rotates, the greater the

speed of each particle. The equation for the linear speed of a rotating rigid

body is given by Equation (8), wherein, ω is the angular speed and r is the

radius. It is important to remember that the farther a point is from the axis,

the greater its linear speed. The direction of the linear velocity vector is

tangent to its circular path at each point, as shown in Figure 2.

 Figure 2. A Rigid Body Rotating about a Fixed Axis through Point O

For the

linear acceleration in a rigid-body rotation, the linear acceleration is called

tangential component of acceleration or tangential acceleration, denoted by

atan. It is the component parallel to the instantaneous velocity that acts to

change the magnitude of the particle’s velocity and it is equal to the rate of

change of speed. The equation for computing the tangential acceleration is

given by Equation (9), where r is the radius and α is the angular

acceleration. This component of a particle’s acceleration is always tangent

to the circular path of the particle. Another component for the linear

acceleration of a rotating rigid-body is the centripetal component of

acceleration, denoted by arad. It is component of the particle’s acceleration

that is directed toward the rotation axis and it is associated with the change

of direction of the particle’s velocity. The equation in Equation (10) show

the relationship between ω and v in terms of the formula for a rad. This

relationship is true at each instant, even when ω and v are not constant.

The centripetal component always points toward the axis of rotation. The

vector sum of the centripetal and tangential components of acceleration of

a particle in a rotating body is the linear acceleration “a”, as shown in

Figure 3. The Acceleration of Point P has a Component a rad Toward the

Rotation Axis and a Component atan along the circle that Point P follows.
 Figure 3. A Rigid Body whose Rotation is Speeding Up.

Since, the discussion of rotational kinematics introduced the main

idea of this experiment, it is time to discuss the idea of energy in rotational

motion. In this topic, the main idea of the experiment, moment of inertia,

will be discussed in a more general idea that would be further discussed

with the use of engineering mechanics concepts. A rotating rigid body

consists of mass in motion, so it has kinetic energy. This kinetic energy can

be expressed in terms of the body’s angular speed and a new quantity,

called moment of inertia, that depends on the body’s mass and how the

mass is distributed.
 To begin, we think of a body as being made up of a large number of

particles, with masses (m1, m2…) at distances (r1, r2,…) from the axis of

rotation. Then label the particles with index i: The mass of the ith particle is

mi and its distance from the axis of rotation is r1. The particles don’t

necessary all lie in the same plane, so it is specified that r1 is the

perpendicular distance from the axis to the ith particle. When a rigid body

rotates about a fixed axis, the speed vi of the ith particle is given by

Equation (8), vi = riω, where ω is the body’s angular speed. Moreover,

different particles have different values of r, but ω is the same for all, else

the body is not rigid. The kinetic energy of the ith particle can be expressed

as the equation in Equation (11). The total kinetic energy of the body is the

sum of the kinetic energies of all its particles, shown in Equation (12).

Simplifying the equation even further would result to the equation in

Equation (13) that would be equal to the definition of moment of inertia in

Equation (14). The quantity in parentheses, in Equation (13) is denoted by I

and it is called the moment of inertia of the body for this rotation axis, and

it is shown as the definition of moment of inertia, Equation (14).

 The word “moment means that I depend on how the body’s mass is

distributed in space; it has nothing do with a “moment” of time. For a body

with a given rotation axis and a given total mass, the greater the distance

from the axis to the particles that make up the body, the greater the

moment of inertia. In a rigid body, the distances ri are all constant and I is

independent of how the body rotates around the given axis. The SI unit of

the moment of inertia is the kilogram-meter2 (kg*m2). In terms of moment

of inertia, I, the rotational kinetic energy KE of a rigid body is given by the

equation in Equation (15). The kinetic energy given by Equation (15) is

simply the sum of the kinetic energies of the individual particles that make

up the rotating rigid body.

It is important to remember in using Equation (15) ω must be

measured in radians per seconds in order to give KE in joules. Based on

Equation (15), it is safe to infer that the greater the moment of inertia, the

greater the kinetic energy of a rigid body rotating with a given angular

speed ω. Since the kinetic energy of a body equals the amount of work

done to accelerate that body from rest. Thus, the greater a body’s moment
of inertia, the harder it is to start the body rotating if it’s at rest and the

harder it is to stop its rotation if it’s already rotating.

Figure 4. Moments of Inertia of Various Bodies

In Figure 4, the formulas for the moment of inertia of various bodies

are shown. In reality, a body doesn’t have just one moment of inertia. In

fact, it has

infinitely many,

because there are infinitely many axes about which it might rotate. But

there is a simple relationship between the moment of inertia Icm of a body

of mass M about an axis through its center of mass and the moment of

inertia IP about any other axis parallel to the original one but displaced

from it by a distance d. This relationship is called the parallel-axis theorem

that is shown in Equation (16).

If a rigid body is a continuous distribution of mass, it cannot be

represented by a few point masses. In this case the sum of masses and

distances that defines the moment of inertia becomes an integral. This idea

is often used in the analysis of bodies in higher physics and in engineering

mechanics. In engineering mechanics, this idea is pretty useful in deriving

the formula for the moment of inertia for a certain body. This equation is

shown in Equations (17) and (18); where in r is the radius and ρ is the

density. The limits of the integral are determined by the shape and

dimensions of the body.

Experiment

103: Moment of Inertia has two main objectives, to determine the moment

of inertia of a disk about an axis through its center perpendicular to its

plane and to determine the moment of inertia of a ring about an axis

through its center perpendicular to its plane. The materials that were used

in the experiment are as follows: 1 set of rotating-platform, 1pc disk, 1pc

photogate, 1pc smart timer, 1pc smart pulley, 1 set weights, 1pcs mass

hanger, 1pc Vernier caliper, and 1pc ruler. While the theories to be tested in
this experiment are the theories stated above about the concept of moment

of inertia, in particular of the moment of inertia of a disk and a ring; and

the idea of Newton’s second law of motion in rotational rigid bodies. Refer

to figure 5 for the material of the experiment.

Figure 5. Materials for the experiment

The equations to be used in this experiment are the equations for the

moment of inertia of a disk and ring. Equation (19), for the Second law of

motion for rotating rigid bodies, and Equation (20), for the experimental

value of moment of inertia.

Torque = force x lever arm

Experimental Value of Moment of Inertia

 Figure 6. Part A of the Experiment

For the first part of the

Figure 7. Part B of the Experiment experiment, the first thing that our

group did was to set up the materials needed in order to perform the

experiment by attaching the mounting rod to the smart pulley and

photogate head. Then, connecting the mass hanger to a thread and looping

it around the cylinder along the vertical shaft. After setting up the

equipment, the group then proceeded to the first part of the experiment

which is to determine the moment of inertia of the disk rotated about the

center. Then, the radius of the disk was measured, and the data gathered

was recorded on the table. For the first trial, a small amount of mass was
 added on the pan and letting it drop with a constant speed. Adding more

mass is essential. After doing so, the acceleration of the disk was recorded.

The experimental value was then computed using the 10th equation. The

percent difference was also computed using the equation. The second part

of the experiment was somehow similar to the first part. However, the only

thing different is that the disk’s orientation which is changed by inserting it

on the shaft into the D-shaped hole at the side of the disk. The

computations done in part B is the same for part A. Refer to figure 6 for the

Part A of the experiment and figure 7 for the Part B of the experiment.

TABLE 1. Determination of Moment of Inertia of Disk (rotated about its center)

Mass of disk, MDisk = 1415.50 grams Moment of Inertia of Disk

Radius of disk, RDisk = 11.20 grams I = 88780.16 g * cm3

Friction Mass = 50 grams Radius, r = 1.55 cm
(mass of pan + added) m Acceleration a Moment of Inertia of Disk (Exp.)
55 grams 0.70 cm/s2 89788.16 g*cm3
% Difference 2.06 %

TABLE 2. Determination of Moment of Inertia of Disk (rotated about its diameter)

Mass of disk, MDisk = 1415.50 grams Moment of Inertia of Disk

Radius of disk, RDisk = 11.20 grams I = 44390.08 g * cm3

Friction Mass = 50 grams Radius, r = 1.55 cm

(mass of pan + added) m Acceleration a Moment of Inertia of Disk (Exp.)

55 grams 1.40 cm/s2 41444.48 g*cm3

% Difference 6.86 %

According to the data that we have gathered in the part A for Table 1.

Determination of Moment of Inertia of Disk (rotated about its center) of the

experiment, we have observed in the table that there is a slight difference in

the experimental value of the moment of inertia of the disk to the actual

value of the moment of inertia of the disk. Overall, this experiment that we

have conducted has given us a computed percent difference that was

resulted to 2.06%. As for the second part of the experiment which records

the results we have gathered in the Part B of the experiment, we have

observed that there is also a slight difference in the experimental value of

the moment of inertia of the disk that is rotated about its diameter to the

actual value of the moment of inertia of the disk. Moreover, the percent

difference computed in this experiment resulted to 6.86%. Our observation

showed that the moment of inertia of the disk that is rotated about its

center produced 89,788.16 gcm2, while the disk that was rotated about its

diameter produced 41,444.08gcm2 moment of inertia. Despite having the

same mass of 55g (mass of pan + added), the acceleration being produced
by the disks were quite different. The disk that was rotated about its center

produced an acceleration of 0.70 cm/s2 and the disk that was rotated about

its diameter produced an acceleration of 1.40 cm/s2.

Conclusion

The disc from the Part A that is rotated about its center and the disk

from Part B that was rotated about its diameter may have the same mass

and radius, however both have significant differences when measuring

their moment of inertia. The disc that is rotated about its center has its mass

all distributed in all of its circumference, while the disk that was rotated

about its diameter has its mass distributed at a distance equal to its radius.

The disk from part A has its mass mostly distributed near the axis of

rotation, while the disk from part B has no mass pushing its center but its

sides. We concluded that as the moment of inertia of the disk decreases,

then the rotational acceleration of the disk increases and if the disk’s

moment of inertia increases, then the rotational acceleration of the disk

decreases. Our conclusion is the same with the Conservation of Angular

Momentum which tells us that as the moment of inertia decreases, the

angular velocity of the body increases and vice versa.