Experiment 103

Moment of Inertia

A4 - Group 3

Geronimo, Jamie Ann

Hael, Jesher Immanuel
Layam, Ulramsses
Macababbad, Dennis Christian
Manzanero, Jan Adrian
Mauricio, Gian Keanu
Mendoza, Maverick Paul
Nobe, Eisen Matthew

Prof. Ramil R. Jimenez

Instructor
EXPERIMENT NO. 103 MOMENT OF INERTIA

INTRODUCTION

Moment of inertia is the measure of the rotational inertia of rigid body. It is the resistance of a
rigid body to any change in its rotational motion about a specified axis. Moment of inertia, a scalar
quantity, is the rotational equivalent of mass.

OBJECTIVES
1. To compute the moment of inertia of a rigid body
a. Solid Disk Pulley
b. Ring Pulley
2. To relate torque applied to a body and the resulting angular acceleration.

MATERIALS: The Physics Aviary Virtual Laboratory

THEORY

The moment of inertia of a particle rotating about an axis is given by the expression,
I = mr 2 (eqn. 1)

where m is the mass of the particle and r is the shortest or perpendicular distance relative to the axis of
rotation. For a group of particles,
I = m r 2 = m r 2 + m r 2 + m r 2 +
N
(eqn. 2)
i i 1 1 2 2 3 3
i=1

For a rigid body consisting of continuous distribution of mass, the moment of inertia can be
computed by taking the integral of the masses relative to the axis of rotation,

I =  r 2dm (eqn. 3)

The differential mass dm can be expressed in terms of elemental volume dV and the density  .
Recall that density is mass per unit volume,  = dm / dV . Equation 3 can be written as

I =  r 2  dV (eqn. 4)

If the density of the body is uniform,

I =   r 2 dV (eqn. 5)
MOMENT OF INERTIA OF DISK (about an axis through its center)

Consider a disk of mass M, thickness L, and radius R (See Figure 1) rotated about an axis
through its center and perpendicular to its plane.

From Eqn 5, I =   r 2 dV , and the infinitesimal volume dV = (2 r L dr )

I =   r 2 (2 r L dr)
R

0
R
I = 2  L
0
r 3 dr
2  L
I= (R 4 )
4
I=
1
(  R 2 L)(R 2 ) (eqn. 6)
2
The total volume of disk,
V =  R2 L

the total mass of disk

M =  V =  R 2 L

and the moment of inertia of solid disk is

1
I= MR 2 (eqn. 7)
2

Newton’s Second Law of Motion for a Rotating Rigid Body

The ability of a force to rotate a body about an axis is a quantity called torque.
Mathematically,
torque = force  lever arm
 =Fd (eqn. 8)
Consider a rigid body that consisting of particles at various distances from the axis of
rotation, which is acted upon by an applied force F .
From Newton’s second law, Fnet = ma

and multiplying the above equation by R yields

Fnet  R = m Ra
 The tangential acceleration a is equal to the product of radius and angular acceleration ,
a = R and Fnet  R =  net .
 net = mR2 
Recall that mR2 is moment of inertia I . Thus, newton’s second law of motion for rigid body is
 net = I  (eqn. 9)

EXPERIMENTAL VALUE OF MOMENT OF INERTIA

Consider top view of the experimental set up. See Figure 3 . The unbalanced force necessary
to accelerate the disk and ring equals the difference between the weight added on the pan and the
tension on the thread, mg − T .

From Newton’s Second Law,

 net = I  , T r = I 
(mg − ma) r = I  ,  = a / r
a
(mg − ma) r = I
r
Thus, the experimental value of moment of inertia is

m (g − a) r 2
I= (eqn. 10)
a

where: m = mass added plus mass of pan

(note: do not include friction mass)
a = acceleration of disk/ring, value
taken from the smart timer reading
r = radius of shaft to which the thread is wound
PROCEDURE:
Part 1. Moment of Inertia of a Solid Disk Pulley
1. Open the Moment of Inertia virtual laboratory by clicking this link: Moment Of Inertia of
Pulley (thephysicsaviary.com) or the link provided by your instructor.
2. Set the inner radius r of the pulley to zero and choose a value for the outer radius R (50 mm
to 150 mm). Enter your value of R (in meters) in Table 1. R is constant for all trials.
3. Set the mass of the pulley M (50 g to and max = 1000 g). Enter your value of M (in kg) in
Table 1. M is constant for all trials. Compute the moment of inertia of the solid disk IC using
the equation
1
I = MR2
C
2
4. Set the planet to Earth where g = 9.8 m/s2.
5. Set the falling mass m (min = 50 g and max = 500 g). Click start.
6. In the resulting velocity vs. time graph, compute the linear acceleration a of the falling mass
using the equation

v − v0
a=
t

7. Compute the experimental value of the moment of inertia IE using the equation
m (g − a) R2
IE =
a
a
8. Compute the angular acceleration  and torque  in each trial using
= and  = I .
R
9. Click reset and repeat the steps using different values for the falling mass m.

Part 2. Moment of Inertia of a Ring Pulley

1. Set the inner radius r of the pulley r such that it is greater than zero but less than the outer
radius R (R > r > 0). Enter the values of r and R in Table 2. R and r are constants for all
trials.
2. Set the mass of the pulley M (min = 50 g and max = 100 g). Enter the value of M in Table 2.
M is constant for all trials.
3. Compute the moment of inertia of the ring pulley IC using the equation
 IC =
1
2
(
M r 2 + R2 )
4. Set the planet to Earth where g = 9.8 m/s2.
5. Set the falling mass m (min = 50 g and max = 500 g). Click start.
6. In the resulting velocity vs. time graph, compute the linear acceleration a of the falling mass
using the equation

v − v0
a=
t
7. Compute the moment of inertia IE using the equation
m (g − a) R2
IE =
a

a
8. Compute the angular acceleration  and torque  in each trial using
= and  = I .
R
9. Click reset and repeat the steps using different values for the falling mass m.
 EXPERIMENT NO. 103: MOMENT OF INERTIA

Table 1. Moment of Inertia of a Solid Disk Pulley

mass of pulley M = 1.0 kg

radius of pulley R = 0.1 m

moment of inertia (computed) IC = 0.005 kg.m2

Moment of
final linear falling angular
time Inertia Torque
TRIAL velocity acceleration mass acceleration
t (s) (experimental)  (Nm)
v (m/s) a (m/s2) m (kg)  (rad/s2)
IE (kg.m2)

1 0.50 0.3 1.667 0.1 0.00488 16.67 0.081

2 0.85 0.3 2.833 0.2 0.00492 28.33 0.139

3 1.10 0.3 3.667 0.3 0.00502 36.67 0.184

4 1.30 0.3 4.333 0.4 0.00505 43.33 0.219

5 1.48 0.3 4.933 0.5 0.00493 49.33 0.243

I. Screenshots of Trial 1 (Set Up and v vs. t graph):

II. Sample Computation of Trial 1 (a, IC and IE):
𝑣 − 𝑣0
𝑎=
𝑡
0.50 m⁄s − 0 m⁄s
𝑎=
0.3 s
𝑎 = 1.667 m⁄ 2
s
1
𝐼𝐶 = 𝑀𝑅 2
2
1
𝐼𝐶 = (1.0 kg)(0.1m)2
2
𝐼𝐶 = 0.005 kg∙m2

𝑚(𝑔 − 𝑎)𝑅2
𝐼𝐸 =
𝑎
(0.1 kg) (9.8 ⁄ 2 − 1.667 m⁄ 2 ) (0.1m)2
m
𝐼𝐸 = s s
1.667 m⁄ 2
s
𝐼𝐸 = 0.00488 kg∙m2

III. Analysis: Based from the data in Table 1, answer the following questions.

a. What factors determine the moment of inertia of a solid disk pulley?

From the data that we have gathered, the moment of inertia of a solid disk pulley is
determined by the mass and inner radius of the pulley. changing the other values will only
induce miniscule change withing the moment of inertia in relation to its computed moment
of inertia.

b. What effect does the falling mass have on the moment of inertia of the solid disk
pulley?

From the data gathered, increasing the falling mass means an increase in angular
acceleration and torque. The falling mass increases the moment of inertia, but from the
gathered data, the change can be seen as minute.

c. What effect does increasing/decreasing the falling mass m have on linear

acceleration?

From the simulation performed and the data gathered, it can be concluded that falling mass
m is directly proportional to the linear acceleration. As the falling mass increases, the linear
acceleration also increases. From the results, the smallest value of falling mass corresponds
to the slowest value of linear acceleration while the larger value of mass corresponds to
faster linear acceleration.
IV. Conclusion:
To sum it up, different factors can affect the moment of inertia of the solid disk pulley. On
the data in Table 1 it shows that the moment of inertia varies on the falling mass m and
linear acceleration 𝑚⁄𝑠 2 . Additionally, as the angular acceleration increases, the torque
also increases, it shows that they both are proportional to each other. This proves that that
all the values in table 1 are related to each other as one value goes up, the other goes up.
Table 2. Moment of Inertia of a Ring Pulley

mass of pulley M = 0.1 kg

Inner radius of pulley r = 0.05 m

outer radius of pulley R = 0.1 m

moment of inertia (computed) IC = 0.000625 kg.m 2

Moment of
final linear falling angular
time Inertia Torque
TRIAL velocity acceleration mass acceleration
t (s) (experimental)  (Nm)
v (m/s) a (m/s2) m (kg)  (rad/s2)
IE (kg.m2)

1 1.50 0.25 6.000 0.1 0.000633 60.00 0.0380

2 1.87 0.25 7.480 0.2 0.000620 74.80 0.0464

3 2.02 0.25 8.080 0.3 0.000639 80.80 0.0516

4 2.11 0.25 8.440 0.4 0.000645 84.40 0.0544

5 2.17 0.25 8.680 0.5 0.000645 86.80 0.0560

I. Screenshots of Trial 1 (Set Up and v vs. t graph):

II. Sample Computation of Trial 1 (a, IC and IE):
𝑣 − 𝑣0
𝑎=
𝑡
1.50 m⁄s − 0 m⁄s
𝑎=
0.25 s
𝑎 = 6.000 m⁄ 2
s
1
𝐼𝐶 = 𝑀(𝑟 2 + 𝑅2 )
2
1
𝐼𝐶 = (0.1 kg)[(0.05m)2 + (0.1m)2 ]
2
𝐼𝐶 = 0.000625 kg∙m2

𝑚(𝑔 − 𝑎)𝑅2
𝐼𝐸 =
𝑎
(0.1 kg) (9.8 m⁄ 2 − 6.000 m⁄ 2) (0.1m)2
𝐼𝐸 = s s
6.000 m⁄ 2
s
𝐼𝐸 = 0.000633 kg∙m2

III. Analysis: Based from the data in Table 2, answer the following questions.
a. What factors determine the moment of inertia of a ring pulley?
From the data gathered, the moment of inertia can be seen as dependent on the linear
acceleration of the falling mass, with that we can say that falling mass is directly
proportional to the moment of inertia.
b. What effect does the falling mass have on the moment of inertia of the ring pulley?

Falling mass is directly proportional to both the linear acceleration, the angular
acceleration, and the torque of the ring pulley, meaning if falling mass increases so does the
other values. But it can be observed that the moment of inertia also increases as these
values increase but at a very miniscule rate showing that it is directly proportional, but the
change is so small that changing the falling mass is almost independent from the moment
of inertia.
c. What effect does increasing/decreasing the falling mass m have on linear
acceleration?

It can be concluded from the simulation and data analysis that there is a direct connection
between falling mass m and linear acceleration. More specifically, an increase in linear
acceleration is accompanied by an increase in the falling mass. The results show that smaller
falling masses produce slower linear acceleration than larger ones, which produce faster
linear acceleration. These findings imply that modifying the falling mass m can be a useful
tool for regulating linear acceleration.
IV. Conclusion:
In conclusion, all the values in table 1 are somehow alike the values in table 2 but, there is a
slight difference the inner radius of the wheel this affects the moment of inertia of the
pulley. This means that if the inner radius of a pulley increases the lower the moment of
inertia is. Although, the inner radius of the pulley affected the value of the moment of
inertia they are still proportional to each other.