Physics 106.

1 March 3, 2020
1

Experimentation for conservation of energy and angular

momentum for a system of disks rotating about its
central axis using graphical analysis
Carl Arguelles, Nicholas Chai, and Florence Sanchez

National Institute of Physics, University of the Philippines Diliman, Philippines

1 Introduction
Motion of rigid bodies are most commonly known to be described translationally. But this is an
incomplete description as rigid bodies are capable of rotating as well. According to Chasles’ theorem,
the displacement of any rigid body can be separated into two independent motions referenced at the
center of mass: translation and rotation [1]. If an object can be expressed by its linear momentum and
linear displacement, it can additionally be expressed by its angular momentum and an angular
displacement. As previously shown, the linear kinematic equations can be translated to form the
rotational kinematics where θ, ω and α are the angular equivalent of the linear displacement d, linear
velocity v and linear acceleration a respectively.
In calculating translational motion, the law of conservation of kinetic energy and law of
conservation of momentum turns out to be very handy proving how fundamental these laws are to
Newtonian mechanics. This can even be extended in describing rotational motion of rigid bodies.
These two fundamental laws can be demonstrated using a disk rotated at a fixed axis of rotation
with a moment of inertia I (Eq. 1).
1 2 2
I = M ( R o−Ri ) ( 1 )
2
2
To prove the law of conservation of kinetic energy, the work-energy theorem was used. This
theorem simply states that the total work done by a rigid body is the same as its change in kinetic
energy.
W net = ΔKE
1
τθ= I ( ωf −ω i ) ( 2 )
2 2
2
Substituting the appropriate rotational values, equation 2 is achieved where τ is torque, the
rotational counterpart of force, and I is the moment of inertia, the rotational counterpart of mass.
Considering τ = Iα, equation 3 is achieved.
1
Iαθ= I ( ω f −ωi ) ( 3 )
2 2
2
Using this equation, it can be demonstrated that the kinetic energy of a rotating disk about a
central axis does not change or, in other words, conserved easily when the data gathered satisfy the
previous equation.
On the other hand, the law of conservation of angular momentum L can simply be expressed as
ΔL = 0. Explicitly, it can be stated as in equation 4.
ΔL=0
Lf =Li
I 1 ω 1 ,i + I 2 ω2 , i=ω f ( I 1+ I 2 ) ( 4 )
Physics 106.1 March 3, 2020
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Using a two-disk system where one is dropped on a spinning disk with an initial angular
velocity, the previous equation can be simplified into equation 5 since the first disk is not rotate ng
initially.
I 1 ω 1 ,i=ω f ( I 1+ I 2 ) ( 5 )
Rearranging this equation so the final angular velocity is isolated, the final pertinent equation
for this experiment is derived (eq. 6).
I 1 ω1
ωf = (6 )
I 1+ I 2
The simplest method to verify conservation of angular momentum is to compare theoretical and
experimental values of the final angular velocity but only for a particular initial angular velocity. Now
to verify this for all values of ω i, the method of graphical analysis can be applied. Plotting values of
ω f versus values of ω i, a best-fit line can be graphed where its slope should be equal to the constant
I1
.
I1+I2
2 Methodology
The inner and outer radius of the disks were measured with the use of ruler and its masses were
measured using the digital weighing scale. The rotary motion sensor was set-up with the Graphical
AnalysisTM 4 software installed on a smartphone to collect the data for time (t), angle (ɵ), angular
velocity (ɷ), and angular acceleration (α).
Determining the conservation of energy of the rotating disk
The disk 1 was placed on the rotary motion sensor. It was then rotated by applying with a force
perpendicular to its motion. The data recorded on the software were used to calculate (by using the
formula for conservation of energy) for the [theoretical] final angular velocity which was compared to
its experimental value. The experiment had five trials with the same disk.
Determining the conservation of angular momentum with varying masses
The disk 1 was placed on the rotary motion sensor and was applied with a perpendicular force.
While the disk 1 was in motion, the disk 2 was dropped on top of disk 1. The angular velocity before
dropping disk 2 was used to calculate for the theoretical value of the angular velocity after dropping
disk 2 which was then compared to its experimental value. The experiment had five trials each with
disk 2 and disk 3.
Materials and Apparatus

(a) (b)

(c) (d)
The figures above show the materials used in the experiment: (a) rotary motion sensor, (b) disks, (c) digital weighing scale, and (d) ruler.
3 Results and Discussion
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Sources of Error
The materials and the instrument used in this experiment are not perfect systems. The disks used
are not perfectly symmetrical and the mass may not be uniformly distributed. The axle inside the
sensor are not perfectly fitted resulting to varying deceleration due to uneven friction as the disks
rotate. It must also be noted that the sensor used has no level calibration resulting to uneven forces
due to gravity being applied to different areas of the disk. This also contributes to varying friction
which can be observed from the data. Additionally, in the two-disk system, the method of dropping
the second disk was limited by the setup which allows error to be introduced by the human
participation. The second disk can be easily off-centered when dropped allowing additional forces to
be applied. Consequently, the moment of inertia of the second disk will also change when it is off-
center. This factor is the most difficult to minimized. All of these are possible sources of error that can
deviate experimental values from what is expected.
4 Conclusion
In conclusion, it can be shown through little experiments of a system of rotating disks that energy and
angular momentum is conserved as long as all the forces acting on the system is considered. For this
experiment, there might be an additional decrease in kinetic energy due to the inaccuracy to rotate the disk
on its central axis and an additional applied force to the system that causes it to deviate from the
conservation laws, if otherwise then the measured value would ensure the equality of the measurements.

References
[1] D. Kleppner and R. Kolenkow, An Introduction to Mechanics, 2 nd Ed. (Cambridge University Press, United
Kingdom, 2014).