Last (Lab #5)     Next (Lab #7)        Lab Page



Physics 111 Lab #6:

Rotational Dynamics I: Moments of Inertia







The moments of inertia of objects with a variety of shapes will also be studied.



Key Activities:

 Measuring the Moments of Inertia of Simple Shapes








By measuring the acceleration of simple objects as they roll down an incline with known angle, the moments of inertia of these objects will be estimated and compared to known values (Lecture 17).


  "Roller Derby"









In this activity, objects of different size, mass, material, etc., will be rolled down an incline in a series of "races" to identify the parameters that contribute to the speed of the objects (Lecture 17).


 Energetics of Rolling Objects





The relationship between the rotational and translational energies of different rolling objects (a cart, a solid sphere, and a hollow cylinder) will be studied in this activity (Lectures Lecture 18 and Lecture 19).







These results show the fractional contributions of both the rotational (top) and translational (bottom) kinetic energies to the object's total energy, illustrating that the rotational kinetic energy of an object comprises a greater contribution of the object's total energy for objects with a larger value of the constant I/MR2.



 

What's happening?





  Show me the Prelab

  Back to Lab Page

  Back to Physics 111 Page