Quarter 2 Week 1 Activity 4: Angular Acceleration and Angular Momentum

Name: _______________________________________________ Grade 12 STEM Sec. _______________

Conversions of Units
What is 100 rpm expressed to rad/s?

100 X X

100 X X

= 10. 47

Equations for Constant Accelerated Rotational Motion

Meaning of symbols Linear Motion Rotational Motion
ω – angular velocity (rad/s) vf = vi + at ωf = ωi + αt
ωi – initial angular velocity
2 2
ωf –final angular velocity d = vit + at / 2 θ = vit + αt / 2
θ – angular position (rad)
2 2 2 2 2
α – angular acceleration (rad/s ) vf = vi + 2ad ωf = ωi + 2αθ

Angular velocity is the rate of velocity at which an object

or a particle is rotating around a center or a specific point in a
given time period. It is also known as rotational velocity. Angular
velocity is measured in angle per unit time or radians per second
(rad/s). Since Period is reciprocal of frequency, we could also
write the equation for angular velocity as ω = where the
Period T is expressed in seconds.
Angular acceleration, also called rotational
acceleration, is a quantitative expression of the
change in angular velocity that a spinning object
undergoes per unit time. It is a vector quantity,
consisting of a magnitude component and either of
two defined directions or senses. The magnitude, or
length, of the angular acceleration vector is directly
proportional to the rate of change of angular velocity,
and is measured in radians per second squared. The
direction of the angular acceleration vector is
perpendicular to the plane in which the rotation takes
place.
Let as use a moving bicycle moving forward and you are an observer at the left side of the
bicycle. When the bike is moving forward and speeding up, the angular acceleration and angular
velocity of the bike is towards the left side of the bike. When the bike is moving forward and
slowing down, the angular acceleration will be turned to the right while the angular velocity of
the bike is still in the left side of the bike.

Note: The equations work the same way as the equations for Free Falling Motion. Just be sure
of the units expressed in radians not in meters or any other unit such as revolution per
minute (rpm) which is the common unit for rotational motion
Example problem
1. An electric motor with 500 rpm decelerate at constantly to a full stop after 5 sec. What is
the angular acceleration of the electric motor?
Given Eq.
ωi = 500 rpm = 500 X X = 52.33 rad/s ωf = ωi + αt

ωf = 0 α=
t=5s

Solution
α=
2
α = - 10.47 rad / s
(Negative sign indicates both decrease in angular velocity and reversal of angular direction)

Angular Momentum
Angular Momentum (L) is a vector quantity that is a measure of the rotational
momentum of a rotating body or system, that is equal in classical physics to the product of the
angular velocity (ω) of the body or system and its moment of inertia (I) with respect to the
rotation axis, and that is directed along the rotation axis mathematically expressed as:

L=Iω

Law of Conservation of Angular Momentum

Angular momentum (rarely, moment of momentum or rotational momentum) is the
rotational equivalent of linear momentum. The law of conservation of angular momentum states
that when no external torque acts on an object, no change of angular momentum will occur. The
common application of this is a spinning ice skater. When the ice skater moved her hand
outward, the spinning or angular velocity decreases and when the ice skater moved her hand
closer to the body thus decreasing radius of the spinning motion ( rf < ri ) causing the ice skater’s
moment of inertia to also decrease ( If < Iri ), her angular velocity increases to compensate and
maintain the angular momentum. Conservation of Angular Momentum could be expressed
mathematically as:

Lf=Li or Iωf=Iωi

WORD PROBLEM

1-5. A disc initially at rest starts spinning to reach 2 000 rpms after 10 s. What is its angular
acceleration?

6-10. An electric fan blade is initially at rest. What is the angular velocity of a spinning electric fan
2
blade at 10 radians if it has 10 rad/s angular acceleration?

2
11 – 15. A spinning disc has a moment of inertia of 1 kgm . What is its angular momentum if it
has an angular velocity of 100 rpm?

16 – 20. A spinning 10 g point mass has a radius of 10 cm. If its initial angular velocity is 10 rpm, what will
happen to its final velocity if the radius of the point mass is reduced by half if the angular momentum of
the system is conserved?