Documenti di Didattica
Documenti di Professioni
Documenti di Cultura
THE BIG
IDEA
discover!
ROTATIONAL
MOTION
Rotating objects tend to keep
rotating while non-rotating objects
tend to remain non-rotating.
..........
ROTATIONAL
MOTION
12 ruler, clay,
pencil, meterstick
MATERIALS
discover!
What Makes an Object Easy to Rotate?
212
212
12.1 Rotational
Inertia
think!
When swinging your leg
from your hip, why is the
rotational inertia of the
leg less when it is bent?
Answer: 12.1
Key Term
rotational inertia
Teaching Tip Compare the
concept of inertia and its role
in linear motion to rotational
inertia (sometimes called
moment of inertia) and
its role in rotational motion.
The difference between the
two involves the role of radial
distance from a rotational axis.
The greater the distance of mass
concentration, the greater the
resistance to rotation.
Teaching Tip Explain how
the location of an objects mass
with respect to its axis of rotation
determines its rotational inertia.
The rotational inertia of an
object is a measure of how much
it resists turning.
FIGURE 12.1
Rotational inertia depends
on the distance of mass
from the axis of rotation.
FIGURE 12.2
By holding a long pole, the
tightrope walker increases
his rotational inertia.
CHAPTER 12
ROTATIONAL MOTION
213
213
Demonstrations
Have two 1-meter pipes, one
with two lead plugs in the
center, the other with plugs
in each end. They appear
identical. Weigh both to
show the same weight. Give
one (with plugs in ends) to a
student and ask him or her
to rotate it about its center.
Have another student do the
same with the pipe that has
the plugs in the middle. Then
have them switch. Ask for
speculations as to why one
was noticeably more difficult
to rotate.
Have students try
to balance on a
finger a long upright
stick with a massive
lead weight at one
end. Try it first with
the weight at the
bottom, and then
with the weight at
the top. (Rotational
inertia is greater for
the stick when it is
made to rotate with
the massive part far
from the pivot than
when it is closer.
The farther the
mass, the greater the
rotational inertiathe more it
resists a change in rotation.)
FIGURE 12.3
The short pendulum will
swing back and forth more
frequently than the long
pendulum.
FIGURE 12.4
For similar mass distributions, short legs have less
rotational inertia than
long legs.
FIGURE 12.5
Relate the continuous
adjustments necessary to keep
the object balanced in the
previous demonstration to the
balanced electric scooters in
Figure 11.20 and to the similar
adjustments that must be made
in keeping a rocket vertical
when it is first fired. Amazing!
214
214
A long baseball bat held near its thinner end has more rotational
inertia than a short bat of the same mass. Once moving, it has a
greater tendency to keep moving, but it is harder to bring it up to
speed. A short bat has less rotational inertia than a long bat, and is
easier to swing. Baseball players sometimes choke up on a bat by
grasping it closer than normal to the more massive end. Choking up
on the bat reduces its rotational inertia and makes it easier to bring
up to speed. A bat held at its end, or a long bat, doesnt want to
swing as readily. Similarly, as illustrated in Figure 12.3, the short pendulum has less rotational inertia and therefore swings back and forth
more frequently than the long pendulum. Long-legged animals such
as giraffes, horses, and ostriches normally run with a slower gait than
hippos, dachshunds, and mice. The chihuahua shown in Figure 12.4
runs with quicker strides than his longer-legged friend.
It is important to note that the rotational inertia of an object is
not necessarily a fixed quantity. It is greater when the mass within
the object is extended from the axis of rotation. Figure 12.5 illustrates how you can try this with your outstretched legs. Swing your
outstretched leg back and forth from the hip. Now do the same with
your leg bent. In the bent position it swings back and forth more easily. To reduce the rotational inertia of your legs, simply bend them.
Thats an important reason for running with your legs bentbent
legs are easier to swing back and forth.
FIGURE 12.6
Rotational inertias of various
objects are different.
......
Rotational inertia
depends very much on
the location of the axis
of rotation. A meterstick rotated about one
end, for example, has
four times the rotational
inertia that it has when
rotated about its center.
CHECK
discover!
discover!
MATERIALS
pencil
THINK
CHAPTER 12
ROTATIONAL MOTION
215
215
......
The greater an
objects rotational
inertia, the more difficult it is to
change the rotational speed of
the object.
CONCEPT
CHECK
Teaching Resources
Reading and Study
Workbook
Concept-Development
Practice Book 12-1
Consider the human body. As shown in Figure 12.7, you can rotate
freely about three principal axes of rotation. The three principal
axes of rotation in the human body are the longitudinal axis, the
transverse axis, and the medial axis. Each of these axes is at right
angles to the others (mutually perpendicular) and passes through
the center of gravity. The rotational inertia of the body differs about
each axis.
Transparency 18
PresentationEXPRESS
Interactive Textbook
12.2 Rotational
Inertia and
Gymnastics
FIGURE 12.7
The human body has three
principal axes of rotation.
FIGURE 12.8
216
216
Longitudinal Axis Rotational inertia is least about the longitudinal axis, which is the vertical head-to-toe axis, because most of the
mass is concentrated along this axis. Thus, a rotation of your body
about your longitudinal axis is the easiest rotation to perform. An ice
skater executes this type rotation when going into a spin. Rotational
inertia is increased by simply extending a leg or the arms. The skater
has the least amount of rotational inertia when her arms are tucked
in, as shown in Figure 12.8a. The rotational inertia when both arms
are extended, as in Figure 12.8b, is about three times more than in
the tucked position, so if you go into a spin with outstretched arms,
you will triple your spin rate when you draw your arms in. With your
leg extended as well, as in Figures 12.8c and 12.8d, you can vary your
spin rate by as much as six times. (We will see why this happens in
Section 12.5.)
Transverse Axis You rotate about your transverse axis when you
perform a somersault or a flip. Figure 12.9 shows the rotational inertia of different positions, from the least (when your arms and legs
are drawn inward in the tuck position) to the greatest (when your
arms and legs are fully extended in a line). The relative magnitudes of
rotational inertia stated in the caption are with respect to the bodys
center of gravity.
Rotational inertia is greater when the axis is through the hands,
such as when doing a somersault on the floor or swinging from a
horizontal bar with your body fully extended. In Figure 12.10, the
rotational inertia of a gymnast is up to 20 times greater when she
is swinging in a fully extended position from a horizontal bar than
after dismount when she somersaults in the tuck position. Rotation
transfers from one axis to another, from the bar to a line through her
center of gravity, and she automatically increases her rate of rotation
by up to 20 times. This is how she is able to complete two or three
somersaults before contact with the ground.
FIGURE 12.9
A flip involves rotation
about the transverse axis.
a. Rotational inertia is
least in the tuck position.
b. Rotational inertia is 1.5
times greater than in the
tuck position. c. Rotational
inertia is 3 times greater
than in the tuck position.
d. The gymnasts rotational
inertia is 5 times greater
than in the tuck position.
FIGURE 12.10
......
Medial Axis The third axis of rotation for the human body is the
front-to-back axis, or medial axis. This is a less common axis of rotation and is used in executing a cartwheel. Like rotations about the other
axes, rotational inertia can be varied with different body configurations.
CHECK
human body?
CHAPTER 12
CONCEPT
Teaching Resources
CHECK
......
ROTATIONAL MOTION
217
217
12.3 Rotational
Inertia and
Rolling
In Figure 12.11, which will roll down the incline with greater acceleration, the hollow cylinder or the solid cylinder of the same mass
and radius? The answer is the cylinder with the smaller rotational
inertia. Why? Because the cylinder with the greater rotational inertia
requires more time to get rolling. Remember that inertia of any kind
is a measure of laziness. Which has the greater rotational inertia
the hollow or the solid cylinder? The answer is, the one with its mass
concentrated farthest from the axis of rotationthe hollow cylinder.
So a hollow cylinder has a greater rotational inertia than a solid
cylinder of the same radius and mass and will be more lazy in gaining speed. The solid cylinder will roll with greater acceleration.
FIGURE 12.11
A solid cylinder rolls down
an incline faster than a
hollow one, whether or
not they have the same
mass or diameter.
......
......
CONCEPT
CHECK
CHECK
think!
Teaching Resources
A heavy iron cylinder and a light wooden cylinder, similar in shape, roll down
an incline. Which will have more acceleration?
Answer: 12.3.1
Would you expect the rotational inertia of a hollow sphere about its center to
be greater or less than the rotational inertia of a solid sphere? Defend your
answer.
Answer: 12.3.2
PresentationEXPRESS
Interactive Textbook
Next-Time Questions 12-1,
12-2
218
218
12.4 Angular
Momentum
Key Terms
linear momentum,
angular momentum,
rotational velocity
FIGURE 12.12
The turntable has more
angular momentum when it
is turning at 45 RPM than at
1
33 3 RPM. It has even more
angular momentum if a load
is placed on it so its rotational inertia is greater.
FIGURE 12.13
The gyroscope is a remarkable device. a. The operation of a gyroscope relies on
the vector nature of angular
momentum. b. Angular
momentum keeps the wheel
axle almost horizontal when
a torque supplied by Earths
gravity acts on it.
b
CHAPTER 12
ROTATIONAL MOTION
219
219
Figure 12.14 illustrates the case of an object that is small compared with the radial distance to its axis of rotation. In such cases as
a tin can swinging from a long string or a planet orbiting in a circle
around the sun, the angular momentum is simply equal to the magnitude of its linear momentum, mv, multiplied by the radial distance,
r. In equation form,
FIGURE 12.14
An object of concentrated
mass m whirling in a circular path of radius r with
a speed v has angular
momentum mvr.
FIGURE 12.15
......
CHECK
PresentationEXPRESS
......
Teaching Resources
CHECK
Interactive Textbook
220
220
to rotating systems?
12.5 Conservation
of Angular
Momentum
Key Term
law of conservation of angular
momentum
Demonstration
FIGURE 12.16
When the man pulls his arms and
the whirling weights inward, he
decreases his rotational inertia,
and his rotational speed correspondingly increases.
CHAPTER 12
ROTATIONAL MOTION
221
221
Demonstration
FIGURE 12.17
Rotational speed is controlled by variations in
the bodys rotational inertia as angular momentum is conserved during a forward somersault.
Common Misconception
A falling cat will always land on its
feet.
FACT Most often this is true. But
when dropped upside down from
heights less than one foot, ouch!
......
Angular momentum
is conserved when no
net external torque acts on an
object.
CONCEPT
CHECK
Teaching Resources
Reading and Study
Workbook
Problem-Solving Exercises in
Physics 7-3
FIGURE 12.18
After being dropped upside
down, the cat rotates so it
can land on its feet.
PresentationEXPRESS
Interactive Textbook
222
222
......
The cat shown in Figure 12.18 is held upside down and dropped
but is able to execute a twist and land upright even if it has no initial
angular momentum. Zero-angular-momentum twists and turns are
performed by turning one part of the body against the other. While
falling, the cat rearranges its limbs and tail. Repeated reorientations
of the body configuration result in the head and tail rotating one way
and the feet the other, so that the feet are downward when the cat
reaches the ground. During this maneuver the total angular momentum remains zero. When it is over, the cat is not turning. This maneuver rotates the body through an angle, but does not create continuing
rotation. To do so would violate angular momentum conservation.
Humans can perform similar twists without difficulty, though not
as fast as a cat can. Astronauts have learned to make zero-angularmomentum rotations about any principal axis to orient their bodies
in any preferred direction when floating in space.
CONCEPT What happens to angular momentum when no net
CHECK
12.6 Simulated
Gravity
In Chapter 10, we considered a ladybug in a rotating frame of reference. Now consider a colony of ladybugs living inside a bicycle tire,
as shown in Figure 12.19 below. If we toss the wheel through the air
or drop it from an airplane high in the sky, the ladybugs will be in a
weightless condition and seem to float freely while the wheel is in free
fall. Now spin the wheel. The ladybugs will feel themselves pressed to
the outer part of the tires inner surface. If the wheel is spun at just
the right speed, the ladybugs will experience simulated gravity that
feels like the gravity they are accustomed to. From within a rotating frame of reference, there seems to be an outwardly directed
centrifugal force, which can simulate gravity. Gravity is simulated
by centrifugal force. To the ladybugs, the direction up is toward the
center of the wheel. The down direction to the ladybugs is what we
call radially outward, away from the center of the wheel.
FIGURE 12.19
If the spinning wheel freely
falls, the ladybugs inside
will experience a centrifugal
force that feels like gravity
when the wheel spins at the
appropriate rate.
Link to ASTRONOMY
Spiral Galaxies The shapes of galaxies such as our Milky Way have much to do
ROTATIONAL MOTION
223
223
Support Force Occupants in todays space vehicles feel weightless because they lack a support force. Theyre not pressed against
a supporting floor by gravity, nor do they experience a centrifugal
force due to spinning. But future space travelers need not be subject
to weightlessness. Their space habitats will probably spin, like the
ladybugs spinning bicycle wheel, effectively supplying a support force
and nicely simulating gravity.
FIGURE 12.20
The man inside this rotating space habitat experiences simulated gravity. a. As seen from the outside, the only force
exerted on the man is by the floor. b. As seen from the inside,
there is a fictitious centrifugal force that simulates gravity.
The interaction between the man and the floor of a space habitat,
as seen at rest outside the rotating system, is shown in Figure 12.20a.
The floor presses against the man (action) and the man presses back
on the floor (reaction). The only force exerted on the man is by the
floor. It is directed toward the center and is a centripetal force. As
seen from inside the rotating system, in Figure 12.20b, in addition to
the man-floor interaction there is a centrifugal force exerted on the
man at his center of mass. It seems as real as gravity. Yet, unlike gravity, it has no reaction counterpartthere is nothing out there that he
can pull back on. Centrifugal force is not part of an interaction, but
results from rotation. It is therefore called a fictitious force.
Challenges of Simulated Gravity The comfortable 1 g we
experience at Earths surface is due to gravity. Inside a rotating spaceship the acceleration experienced is the centripetal/centrifugal acceleration due to rotation. The magnitude of this acceleration is directly
proportional to the radial distance and the square of the rotational
speed. For a given RPM, the acceleration, like the linear speed, increases
with increasing radial distance. Doubling the distance from the axis
of rotation doubles the centripetal/centrifugal acceleration. At the
axis where radial distance is zero, there is no acceleration due
to rotation.
224
224
FIGURE 12.21
This NASA depiction of a
rotational space colony may
be a glimpse into the future.
......
CHECK
......
From within a
rotating frame of
reference, there seems to be an
outwardly directed centrifugal
force, which can simulate gravity.
CONCEPT
CHECK
Teaching Resources
Reading and Study
Workbook
Concept-Development
Practice Book 12-2
PresentationEXPRESS
Interactive Textbook
ROTATIONAL MOTION
225
225
REVIEW
Teaching Resources
TeacherEXPRESS
Virtual Physics Lab 14
ASSESS
Check Concepts
4. A cylinder
5. The short one will swing
quicker in a to-and-fro motion
due to less rotational inertia.
6. Bent legs have less rotational
inertia than long straight legs.
7. Longitudinal axis, transverse
axis, and medial axis
8. By pulling their arms inward
and balling up
9. A solid disk because it has less
rotational inertia per mass
and will therefore have the
greater acceleration
10. Linear momentum is the
strength of motion, mv.
Angular momentum is the
strength of rotation, which
is given by mvr for a particle
in a circle, or more generally,
Iv.
226
REVIEW
Concept Summary
Key Terms
226
For: Self-Assessment
Visit: PHSchool.com
Web Code: csa 1200
think! Answers
12.1
ASSESS
Check Concepts
Section 12.1
Section 12.4
Section 12.2
CHAPTER 12
ROTATIONAL MOTION
227
227
ASSESS
(continued)
22. C, D, B, A
Concept
Think
and
Summary
Rank
22. Students Art, Bart, Cis, and Dot sit on a rotating turntable at different distances from
the center as indicated.
1
4 r.
(B) Bart, m 25 kg, sits at 12 r.
(C) Cis, m 50 kg, sits at 34 r.
228
228
ASSESS
Think
and
Explain
Concept
Summary
23. Mei Fan says that a basketball has greater rotational inertia than a solid ball of the same
size and mass because most of a basketballs
mass is far from its center. Ashley says no,
that the center of mass of any uniform ball
is at its center, and mass distribution doesnt
matter. Whom do you agree with?
24. Stand two metersticks against the wall and
let them topple over. Now put a wad of clay
on top of one of the sticks and let them
topple again. Which reaches the floor first?
25. Why is a stick with a wad of clay at the top
easier to balance on the palm of your hand
than an empty stick?
26. At the circus, a performer balances his
friends at the top of a vertical pole. Why is
this feat easier for the performer than balancing an empty pole?
CHAPTER 12
ROTATIONAL MOTION
229
229
ASSESS
(continued)
230
230
ASSESS
Concept
Summary
Think
and
Solve
42. What happens to the rotational inertia of a
simple pendulum when the mass of the bob
is doubled and the length of the pendulum
is halved? (See Figure 12.6.)
43. What happens to the rotational inertia of
a simple pendulum when both the mass
of the bob and the length of the pendulum
are doubled?
44. What happens to the rotational inertia of a
simple pendulum when both the mass
of the bob and the length of the pendulum
are halved?
45. A pair of identical 1000-kg space pods in
outer space are connected to each other by
a 900-m-long cable. They rotate about a
common point like a spinning dumbbell as
shown in the figure. Calculate the rotational
inertia of each pod about the axis of rotation. What is the rotational inertia of the
two-pod system about its midpoint? Express
your answers in kg.m2.
(4502/4002)(1.2 RPM) 5
1.5 RPM.
47. Angular momentum 5 mvr 5
(45 kg)(6.0 m/s)(4.0 m/2) 5
540 kg?m2/s
48. (Iv)bef 5 (Iv)aft, so vaft 5
(Ibef)(2 rot/s)/(0.33Ibef) 5 6 rot/s.
49. The pucks angular
momentum is conserved:
mvoro 5 mvnewrnew so
vnew 5 (voro/rnew) 5
(2.4 m/s)(0.90 m)/(0.60 m) 5
3.6 m/s.
Activity
Activity
50. Gather a selection of canned foods. Predict which will roll faster down an incline.
Compare liquids (which slide or slosh rather
than roll inside the can) and solids. Roll the
cans to test your predictions. Describe your
results.
Teaching Resources
More Problem-Solving Practice
Appendix F
CHAPTER 12
ROTATIONAL MOTION
231
231