Physics Laboratory Report:

Title: Rotational Inertia and Energy in Rotational Motion

Lab Number: 9a1

Name: Vishal Ravikumar

Group ID: Z

Date Of Experiment: 11/13/20

Date Of Report Submission: 11/20/20

Introduction:
Objectives:

1. To explore the rotational motion of ridged bodies with respect to angular position and angular
velocity at a constant angular acceleration.

2. To evaluate the relation of those angular quantities to the linear position and linear velocity in a
system with bound motion including translational and rotational motion.

3. To experimentally determine the moment of inertia of an object and compare it to the

calculated one

4. To demonstrate the conservation of energy in a system involving rotational motion

Theoretical Background:

We know that a ridged body is defined as a body with a definite shape and size that do not change so
that each particle in the body has a fixed position relative to the other one. When every point in a rigid
body moves in a circle with a common axis, the body is in rotational motion. We also know that when a
rigid body rotates around an axis, angular quantities such as angular displacement, angular velocity and
angular acceleration are used to describe rotational motion. We also know that the moment of inertia of
an object can be defined as the objects resistance to a change in its angular momentum and has a scalar
quantity not a vector. This depends not only of the mass of the object but the shape of the object as well
as the axis that it wants to rotate. Finally, we know that

Experimental Procedure:
Equipment List:

1. Lab Computer with capstone software

2. 850 Universal Interface
3. Rotational System
 4. Rotating Platform with an adaptor
5. Disk
6. Ring
7. 300 g Square mass with a thumb screw and a nut
8. 50 g mass hanger
9. Weight
10. Bubble level
11. Vernier Caliper
12. Digital scale on the lab counter.

Setup:

1. Make the basic setup of the rotational apparatus as shown in figure one
2. Level the rotational base with a bubble level by adjusting the leg screws on the base
3. Log in to the computer using your UCID and password
4. Make sure if the USB cable of the 850 universal interface is connected to a USB port on the
computer.
5. Make sure if the AC adapter power cord is plugged to an electrical outlet located under the lab
table
6. Press the power pish button on the left front corner of the of the interface. The green LED
indicator below the power push button should be illuminated
7. Plug the phone jack from the photogate sensor in the “Digital inputs port 1 “in the 850-universal
interface.
8. Open “Lab 9a1 Moment OF Inertia and Energy in Rotational Motion” File in “Physics 111A
Experiments” folder on Desktop. You can see the “Measurements” displaying the plots of angle
and position data over time. The “Analysis” page shows the plot of position, angular velocity and
linear velocity data over time.

Procedure:

Part 1: Measure the physical Quantities of objects used in this experiment:

We need the following measurements to calculate the theoretical moment of inertia of each object and
to relate the linear velocity of the hanging mass to the angular velocity of the rotating body.

1. Measure the masses of the disk, a ring, a square mass, a mass hanger, and given weight
2. Measure the radius of the disk and the inner and outer radii of the ring
3. Measure the radius of the rim of the second pully from the top if the step pully where the string
is wound.

Part 2: Theoretical Determination of the moment of inertia of an object:

1. Calculate the rotational inertia where each of two point masses (300g square mass) is positioned
equally apart from the rotational axis by d distance. The d value will be given by your instructor.
2. Calculate the rotational inertial of the disk when it rotates around its center of mass (refer to
figure 5(A).
 3. Calculate the rotational inertial for the disk when it rotates at axis of rotation off its center of
mass by d distance. The d value will be given by your instructor.
4. Calculate the rotational inertia of the ring when it rotates around its center of mass.

Part 3: Experimental Determination of the moment of inertia of an object:

In this part you will obtain the data of angular velocity of the rotating body and position and linear
velocity of the hanging mass in order to experimentally determine the total amount of inertia of a
rotating body as mentioned previously. From a series of experiment, you will finally find out the moment
of inertia of each object such as a point mass, a disk (with rotation axis at and off its center of mass) and
a ring.

1. Have a set up as showen in Figure 8A

2. Hang the mass hanger with a weight of 50 of 100 g at the end of the string
3. Wind the string around the rim of the 2 nd pully from top of the step pulley by gently turning the
rotating platform until the mass hanger is close to the spoke pulley. Hold the rotating platform
stationary.
4. The measurement page of the screen clicks “Record” button and then release the rotating
platform. As the hanging mass is moving down the screen display the position and angle data
over time as showen in Figure 9. Click “STOP” button when the hanging mass reaches the
bottom and moves up.
5. Take several pairs of angles and position data over time with help of “Add Multi coordinates
Too;” on the tool bar on the top of the graph as showen in Figure 9. The ration of position to
angle should be radius R of the 2nd pully rim of the step pully (refer to figure 2(b)).
6. Go to the “Analysis” page on the screen and you can see plots of positions, angular velocity and
linear velocity data of a same (Figure 10). In order to display your data, click the black arrow in
the “Select visible Data” tool on the top of the graph and choose what you want to open
7.
8. Take three sets of Data of position, angular velocity, and linear velocity with use of “Add multi
Coordinate Tool” as showen in figure 10. Compute the total moment of inertia using each set of
data and equations and then average the three values of the total moment of inertia using each
set of data and equation and then average their values of the total moment of inertia. This will
be the total moment of inertia of the rotating platform body.
9. Repeat the above steps for other rotating bodies.
10. Compare your experimental moment of inertia value to the theoretical one and perform
analysis.

Results and Calculations:

Data Table #1: Dimensions:
 Item Value
Step Pully Radius (R) 0.2486 m
Ring Inside Radius (R1) 0.02685 m
Ring Outside Radius (R2) 0.03739 m
Disk Radius (R) 0.04728 m
Mass of Ring (M) 0.1219 kg
Mass of Disk (M) 0.468 kg

Data Table #2: Mass:

Run Description Hanging Mass

1 Ring and Disk 0.03 kg
2 Disk Alone 0.03 kg

Data Table #3: Measured Acceleration:

Run Description Acceleration

1 Ring and Disk 0.225 m/s
2 Disk Alone 0.956 m/s

Data Table #4 Rotational Inertia:

Run Description Experimental Theoretical % of Difference

1 Ring and Disk 7.8 x 10-4 kg m2
2 Disk Alone 1.7 x 10-4 kg m2 1.36x 10-4 kg m2 25%
Ring Alone 6.1x 10-4 kg m2 4.96x 10-4 kg m2 22%

Analysis and Discussion:

We were able to deduce that the rotational motion

Lab Manuel Questions:

 1. Rotational inertia is the kinetic energy due to the rotation of an object and is apart of its total
kinetic energy. This is a scaler value which shows how it changes the rotational velocity of an
object.
2. Yes, the work done is equal to the torque * the angular displacement.
3. If the friction involved in this system is conservation of energy equation is modifying by adding
them together.

Conclusion:
Overall through this lab we were able to explore the rotational motion of ridged bodies with respect to
angular position and angular velocity at a constant angular acceleration, evaluate the relation of those
angular quantities to the linear position and linear velocity in a system with bound motion including
translational and rotational motion, determine the moment of inertia of an object and compare it to the
calculated one, and demonstrate the conservation of energy in a system involving rotational motion. We
also learned the necessary equations and formulas to achieve this.