Experiment 203:

Moment of Inertia
Rotational Inertia (Moment of Inertia)

 The rotational inertia of an object is a measure of the resistance of

the object to changes in its rotational motion
 For a system of particles of masses mi at distances ri from an axis
passing through a point P the rotational inertia of the system about
the axis is given by:

I  m1r12  m2 r22  ...   mi ri 2 Definition of

moment of inertia
i

 SI unit of moment of inertia is the kgm2

 Moment of inertia depends on how the body’s mass is distributed in
space
 In a rigid body the distances ri are constant, and I is independent of
how the body is rotating around a given axis.
 Rotational Kinetic Energy

The rotational kinetic energy of a solid object rotating about an axis for
which its rotational inertia is I with angular velocity w is expressed as

1 2
KE  Iw Rotational kinetic energy of a rigid body
2

 Notice the similarity between this formula and the formula for the kinetic
energy of a point mass m moving with speed v
 This kinetic energy is the sum of kinetic energies of the individual
particles that make up the rigid body
 w is in rad/s (NOT in rev or degrees per second ! )
 KE is in Joules
 The greater is the moment of inertia, the greater the kinetic energy of a
rigid body rotating with a given angular speed
 The greater the body’s moment of inertia, the harder it is to start the body
from moving and the harder it is to stop its rotation if it’s already rotating.
 Energy in Rotational Motion

Example:
An engineer is designing a one-piece machine
part consisting of three heavy connectors
linked by light molded struts. The connectors
can be considered as massive particles
connected by massless rods.

a.) What is the moment of inertia of this body

about an axis through point A, perpendicular to
the plane of the diagram?
b.) What is the moment of inertia about an axis
coinciding with rod BC?
c.) If the body rotates about an axis through A
perpendicular to the plane of the diagram, with
angular speed, ω = 4 rad/s, what is its kinetic
energy?
MomentMoment of Inertia
of Inertia
 Moment of Inertia

Example: A circular hoop and a disk each have a mass of 3 kg

and a radius of 30 cm. Compare their rotational inertias.

Quiz: Between hoop and disk, which one will fall on the faster
when put at the top of the ramp?