ANALYSIS

Moment of inertia is the name given to rotational inertia, the rotational

analog of mass for linear motion. It appears in the relationships for the dynamics
of rotational motion. The moment of inertia must be specified with respect to a
chosen axis of rotation. For a point mass the moment of inertia is just the mass
times the square of perpendicular distance to the rotation axis,

𝐼 = 𝑚𝑟 2

That point mass relationship becomes the basis for all other moments of inertia
since any object can be built up from a collection of point masses.

Rotational inertia plays a similar role in rotational mechanics to mass in linear

mechanics. Indeed, the rotational inertia of an object depends on its mass. It also
depends on the distribution of that mass relative to the axis of rotation.

When a mass moves further from the axis of rotation it becomes increasingly more
difficult to change the rotational velocity of the system. Intuitively, this is because
the mass is now carrying more momentum with it around the circle (due to the
higher speed) and because the momentum vector is changing more quickly.
Both of these effects depend on the distance from the axis.

Rotational inertia takes the place of mass in the rotational version of Newton's 2ⁿᵈ
law.

Consider a mass m attached to one end of a massless rod. The other end of the
rod is hinged so that the system can rotate about the central hinge point. We now
start rotating the system by applying a tangential force F_T to the mass. From
Newton’s 2ⁿᵈ law,

𝐹𝑇 = 𝑚(𝑟𝑎)

Newton's 2ⁿᵈ law relates force to acceleration. In rotational mechanic torque τ

takes the place of force. Multiplying both sides by the radius gives the expression
we want.

𝐹𝑇 𝑟 = 𝑚(𝑟𝑎)𝑟

𝐹𝑇 = 𝑚𝑟 2 𝑎

𝜏 = 𝐼𝛼
This expression can now be used to find the behavior of a mass in response to a
known torque. Torque is a measure of the force that can cause an object to
rotate about an axis. Just as force is what causes an object to accelerate in linear
kinematics, torque is what causes an object to acquire angular acceleration. The
SI unit for torque is the Newton-meter.

For more complicated shapes, it is generally necessary to use calculus to find the
rotational inertia. However, for many common geometric shapes it is possible to
find tables of equations for the rotational inertia in textbooks or other sources.
These typically give the moment of inertia for a shape rotated about its centroid
(which often corresponds with the shapes center of mass).

For example, the rotational inertia of a solid cylinder with radius r rotated about a
central axis is,
1
𝐼= 𝑚𝑟 2
2
and for a hollow cylinder with inner ri and outer radii ro,
1
𝐼= (𝑚)(𝑟𝑜 2 + 𝑟1 2 )
2
The experiment is in divided into three parts. To start, the equipment is first set up.
The mounting rod is attached to the smart pulley and photogate head. The mass
hanger is then connected to the thread, where the thread must pass over the
smart pulley, and loop over the cylinder of the vertical shaft. Refer to Fig. 1.

The disk is then securely placed on the center of the vertical shaft and the smart
timer is connected to the photogate.

In determining the moment of inertia of disk and ring, the ring must be placed
above the disk. Using the Vernier caliper to measure the diameter of the shaft,
the radius of the ring is then computed. Friction mass is to be added to the pan
to overcome the kinetic friction. Friction mass is the small mass added where the
pan is left to fall on constant speed. It is to be noted that the friction mass should
be no more than 40 grams.

For the first trial, add more mass and record its acceleration. The smart timer must
be set to accel, linear pulley. Solve for the experimental moment of inertia of the
disk and ring. The friction mass is not included in the computation of moment of
inertia. Go on with the second trial, this time increasing the mass added and
perform two more trials. Lastly, compute for the percent difference.
The next part of the experiment is the determination of moment of inertia of disk
rotated about the center. First step is to remove the ring from the disk and repeat
the steps from the second part of the experiment.

On determining the moment of inertia of the ring, the moment of inertia can be
measured by computing the difference between moment of inertia of disk and
ring combined and moment of inertia of disk. The last experiment is to determine
the moment of inertia rotated about its diameter. First, remove the disk from the
vertical shaft. Insert the D-shaped hole on the hole disk to the shaft. Repeat the
steps of the second procedure.

The materials used for this experiment includes the disk and the ring, which are
the unit of masses to be tested by which their moment of inertia is to be obtained.
As we all know, a disk is a circular shaped object with length and is a form of a
cylinder. On the other hand, a ring, is a hollow cylinder. Its thickness varies on the
radius of the hole and the ring itself. Other materials include the rotating platform
where the unit of masses are rotated; the photogate, smart timer, smart pulley
and weights which are used to determine the acceleration of the units of masses;
and lastly the Vernier caliper which is used to determine the radii of the objects.
CONCLUSION

For this experiment, I can say that our group have performed well. We have
followed all of the procedures in the laboratory manual carefully and properly.
We made sure that all of the data we have acquired are based only on the results
we have obtained. We have computed the accepted and experimental
moment of inertia in which it is necessary not to include the friction mass in the
computation of experimental moment of inertia because we need to get the
acceleration without the friction.

We also have computed the Percent Difference in every part of the experiment.
For the first part of the experiment, a percent difference of 9.61% was obtained.
For the second part of the experiment, we have 7.84% difference which is still quite
low and relatively close to the actual value. For the third part of the experiment,
we got exact value, percent difference which is 0%.

This I think may not be acceptable in some cases but still Our group decided to
let it be since we already did the second part of the experiment twice to verify if
the data we have acquired are true so we were contented that the percent
difference is really quite high. I think this is due to the inaccuracy brought by the
measurement of the radius and also the inaccuracy of the smart timer. For the
last part of the experiment, the percent difference we got is 12.67% and this is
really big. In tables 1, 2 and 3, our data shows that we have determined the mass
moment of inertia of the disk and the ring using its mass and radius only.

I could say that the moment of inertia of the ring is much lesser than the disk. The
reason for this is that the ring has more space in the middle. In comparison
between the moment of inertia of the disk when rotated about its diameter which
is in table 4 and about its center, our data shows that the moment of inertia of
disk is lesser when it is rotated about the diameter than when it is rotated about
the center. When the disk is rotated in the center, the mass distribution is higher
because it is concentrated to the axis of rotation. Since we were able to
achieve both of the objectives of the experiment, I therefore conclude that it is a
success.
The possible sources of errors are the inconsistency of the smart timer
and inaccurate measurements of the radius of the disk and the ring. Getting the
acceleration in the experiments based on the results in the smart timer may be a
source of error because sometimes it gives of readings that are a bit different or
far from what it should really be.

The measurements of the radius done manually so there is a tendency to

approximate the measurement. Since the computations are done by the
computer, errors in computations are already avoided. Perhaps wrong friction
mass it may be over or less can be a possible source of error because if it is less,
then it is not totally frictionless and if it is over it will move so fast giving us a higher
reading of acceleration in the smart timer. In recommendation to future students
who would do the same experiment, I suggest that it is necessary to measure the
radius accurately to avoid errors. Also, making more sub-trials per added weight
is recommended to verify the reading on the smart timer so that the data to
be used will be of the least error.

APPLICATION

Moment of Inertia is the body’s amount of resistance to rotate. We all know that
Inertia is very dependent on the mass of the body as it dictates whether the body
has greater inertia. Next factor would be the radius or the distance from the axis.

It is very visible from the equation itself that radius and mass are the dependent
variables in the equation thus the Inertia of the disk with the ring is greater than
the Inertia of the disk itself. Regarding with the force exerted, it is related to Torque.
It is defined as the force’s ability to rotate a body. The greater the force, the
greater the Torque.

The experiment is about Moment of Inertia in which we can apply it into real life.
One example is diving. All of the divers knows what angle they will do to build a
lowest moment. Basketball player know how to reduce excessive muscle use in
order to shoot perfectly.