Rotation of a rigid body :

What’s a rigid body ?

In a rigid body all the positions of the particles in it are fixed relative to
each other.
What is Inertia
The tendency of an object to resist change to its motion.
How much inertia a body has is indicated by its ……
The tendency of a body to resist change to its rotational motion about an
axis is called its moment of inertia about that axis.
Moment of Inertia :
The moment of inertia I, of a particle of 0
mass m about a point O at a distance r from it r
is defined as m
I  mr 2
Moment of Inertia of a rigid body about an axis of rotation : is the
sum of the moments of inertia about that axis of all the particles in
the body.
i.e. I  m r  m r  m r  ....  m r
1 1
2
2 2
2
3 3
2
n n
2

n
  (mi ri 2 ) Axis of rotation
i 1
O r1
m1
Factors that affect the
moment of inertia of a r4 r2 Rigid body
rigid body : m4
r3 m2
a. Mass
b. Its shape m3

c. The axis of rotation

 Moment of Inertia
Axis of rotation
1
rod I  Ml 2
G l = length of bar
12
Axis of rotation
M = mass
1 2
G
rod I  Ml
3

G ring
I  Mr 2

r = radius
M = mass

1
G disc I  Mr 2

2
 Moment of Inertia :

R 2
G Hollow sphere I  MR 2
3

2
R I  MR 2
G Solid sphere 5

1
Solid cylinder I  MR 2
G 2
 The Parallel axes theorem

If the moment of inertia of a body about an axis thro’ its

centre of gravity is IG, then the moment of Inertia, I , of the
body about an axis parallel to the first axis ia given by

I = IG + Mh2 . Where h is the distance between the two axes

and M is the mass of the body.
e.g. :
Axis of rotation
M 1
I
rod G  Ml 2

G 12
l
Axis of rotation
1
I Ml 2  Mh 2
12
G
1
 Ml 2
h=½l 3
Question 1 : The moment of inertia of a
S P disc about the axes PQ is
1
I  Ma 2
a G
disc 2
See diagram.

T Q

Find the moment of inertia of the disc about the axis ST.
 Perpendicular axes theorem
If Ix and Iy are the moments of inertia of a body about the axis
OX and OY respectively, and OX is perpendicular to OY. Then
the moment of inertia I about an axis OZ which is perpendicular
to both OX and OY is given by

Z I = Ix + Iy

O X

Y
Question 2
The moment of inertia of a
disc about the axes PQ is
1
I  Ma 2 See diagram.
2
P

G
a X

Y
Q

Find the moment of inertia about the axis GY

Question 3 : Find the moment of inertia of the following system about
the axis PQ.

Disc, mass M Plastisin, mass m

a G b

Given M = 0.5 kg, m = 0.02 kg, a = 0.1 m and b = 0.08 m

 Angular Momentum

The angular momentum of a particle about a point of rotation O is

defined as the moment of its linear momentum about the point O.
Velocity, v
Particle, mass m
r
O

Linear momentum of particle = mv

Moment of linear momentum of particle about O is mvr
Angular momentum, L = mvr
Consider a body rotating with constant angular velocity  about the axis
PQ that passes thro’ O

The angular momentum of the body about PQ, L = sum of angular

momentum of all the particles in the body about PQ.

L = m1v1r1 + m2v2r2 + m3v3r3 + ….+ mnvnrn

P
But v = r 
 L = m1(r1)r1 + m2 (r2) r2 + m3 (r3) r3 + ….+
v1
mn (rn) rn
m4 m1
L   (m r  m r  ......  m r )
1 1
2
2 2
2
n n
2
v4 r4
O r1
n r3 r2 v2
L    mi ri 2 m3
v3 m2
i 1

L  I
Q
Question 4:

A flywheel, mass 10 kg, radius 10 cm is rotating about an axis

thro’ its centre of mass as shown. If it makes 1000 r.p.m.,
what is its angular momentum about that axis ?

Axis or
rotation
Question 5:
Assuming that the Earth is a sphere of uniform
density, mass 6.0 x 1024 kg, radius 6.4 x 106 m,
calculate the angular momentum of Earth about
its axis of rotation.

Earth

Axis of
rotation
 Conservation of Angular Momentum

The total angular momentum of a system about an axis of

rotation is constant if no external torque acts on the system.

e.g. :

a. Ice skater / ballet dancer.

b. Diver
c. Helicopter
d. Eggs (Raw and cooked)
Question 1 :
The rotation of the Earth about its axis is gradually slowing with time.
Can you explain why ?
Question 2 :
Explain why the weight on the back wheels of a car increases
when the car accelerates forward .

Question 3 :

What do you think will happen if all the vehicles on Earth

were to be lined up along the equator and then accelerated
towards the East ?
 Question 4 :
A satellite orbiting the Earth is spinning about its axis of symmetry with
angular velocity . Its moment of inertia about this axis is I. The solar
panels on the satellite is then stretched out so that the axis of symmetry
remains the same. If the angular velocity about its axis is now 0.2 ,
What is its new moment of inertia in terms of I ?
 Kinetic Energy of Ratation
Kinetic Energy of rotation of a rigid body about an axis is the
total kinetic energy of all the particles in the body.
1 1 1
K .E.  m1v1  m2 v2  .....  mn vn2
2 2

2 2 2
But , v  r
P  is the same for all particles

1 1 1
v1 K .E.  m1 (r1 )  m2 (r2 )  ....  mn (rn )
2 2 2

m 2 2 2
m4 1
O r1
v4 r4 1 2 n
r3 r2 v2 K .E.    m1ri 2
m3 2 i 1
v3 m2
1 2
K .E.  I
Q 2
 Kinetic Energy of a Rolling Body
Consider a cylinder of mass M, radius a rolling along a horizontal plane
as shown. Lets say its angular velocity about the axis of the cylinder is 

Then the linear velocity of the cylinder relative to the plane, v = a

And the angular velocity of cylinder about axis ST is .
Q

T


v
a
P

S Continue
 The moment of inertia about PQ is IG =½ Ma2
The moment of inertia about ST is I = IG + Ma2
(parallel axes theorem)

Kinetic Energy of the cylinder K.E. = ½ I2

K.E. = ½ [IG + Ma2] 2

= ½ IG 2 + ½ Ma2 2

= ½ IG 2 + ½ Mv2

K.E. of a rolling body = K.E.of rotation + K.E. of

translation.
Back to diagram
Question 5 :
A sphere of radius a and mass M is rolling without
sliding with a velocity v along a horizontal plane.
What is its K.E. in terms of M and v ?
2
Ans : IG  Ma 2
5
K.E. of a rolling body = K.E.of rotation + K.E. of translation.
= ½ IG 2 + ½ Mv2
1 2 1
 [ Ma ]  Mv 2
2 2

2 5 2
2
1 2 2 v 1
 [ Ma ]   Mv 2

2 5 a 2
7
 Mv 2

10
Question 6 :
a. A cylinder of mass 2kg, radius 5 cm rolls down an inclined plane
without sliding. After moving down a vertical height of 2 m, what is
its velocity v along the plane ?

2m

v 30o

b. If the angle of inclination of the plane to the horizontal is 30o, what is

the linear acceleration of the sphere ?
c. What is the angular acceleration of the cylinder about its axis ?
 Torque

Torque is the moment of force about an axis of

rotation that acts upon a body.
Moment of a force or Torque : is the vektor product of the force
and its perpendicular distance from the axis of rotation.
F
e.g. : 

Point of
rotation,O r

Moment of the force F about point of rotation O is,

  
Moment of force ,   rF
  rFsin =angle between r
and F
 What is the moment of
force or torque about O
due to the force F ?
4m
F =10 N


0
3m

  rFsin
4
 3 10 
5
 24 N m
Question : Is torque a scalar or vector quantity ?

Ans : vector

Torque can be acting in the clockwise or

anticlockwise direction :
Torque in the anticlockwise direction is
considered positive (+)
Torque in the clockwise direction is considered
negative (-)
 P Consider a force F of constant magnitude acting
upon a body as shown in the diagram. This causes
a torque  about the axis PQ. The body undergoes
a1
angular acceleration  as the body rotates with
m4 m1 increasing angular velocity.
r O r1
a4 4
r3 r2 a2 Each particle in the body can be
m3
a3 m2 F considered as experiencing a tiny
force and undergoes linear
acceleration as shown.
Q
The force on particle m1 is F1 = m1a1
dv1 d (r1 ) d
 m1  m1  m1r1
dt dt dt
 m1r1 Notice a = r
 torque  1  m1r1r1
 Total torque on all the particles in the body is then

  m1r12  m2 r22  ....  mn rn2

   mr 2

  I
Analogy between linear motion and rotational motion.
Linear motion Rotational motion

Momentum, P = mv Angular momentum, L =

I
Force , F = ma Torque,  = I

Kinetic energy = ½ mv2 Kinetic energy = ½ I2

 Question 1 :
Flywheel,10 kg.
Referring to the diagram on
the left, determine
Axis or
rotation a. the angular acceleration
of the flywheel
Radius , 0.1 m
b. The angle moved thro’ by
the flywheel in 5 s if the
flywheel is initially at
rest.

50 N c. The kinetic energy of the

flywheel at that time.
 Work done by a torque

For linear motion, work

done by a force is W = Fs

Since linear motion is analogous to

rotational motion, write down the formula
for work done by a torque. Then proof it.
 F
Work done, W = Fs s

W=F(r)  r

But Fr =  0

W=
Example : What is the work done on the
flywheel after 5 s if it starts
from rest ?
Radius = 0.1 m
(moment of inertia = 4 kg m2)
50 N