Lecture 7

Learning Objective:
• Force & Torque
• Rotational Form of Newton’s Second Law
• Rotational Inertia
• Rotational and translational Motion
• Related Problem Solving
ROTATIONAL MOTION
Force vs. Torque
 Forces cause accelerations
 What cause angular accelerations ?
 A door is free to rotate about an axis through O
 There are three factors that determine the
effectiveness of the force in opening the door:
 The magnitude of the force
 The position of the application of the force
 The angle at which the force is applied

April 2, 2023
Torque Units and Direction
 The SI units of torque are N.m
 Torque is a vector quantity
 Torque magnitude is given by

 = rF sin  = Fd
 Torque will have direction
 If the turning tendency of the force is counterclockwise,
the torque will be positive
 If the turning tendency is clockwise, the torque will be
negative
April 2, 2023
Rigid Objects under Net Torque
 The force Fwill
1
tend to cause
a counterclockwise rotation
about O
 The force Fwill2
tend to cause
a clockwise rotation about O
 S = 1 + 2 = F1d1 – F2d2
 If S  0, starts rotating
 If S = 0, rotation rate does ❑ Rate of rotation of an object does not
change, unless the object is acted on by
not change a net torque

April 2, 2023
 Rigid Objects under Net Torque
❑ A one-piece cylinder is shaped as shown in Figure
A core section is protruding from the larger drum. The
cylinder is free to rotate about the central axis. A rope
wrapped around the drum, which has radius R1, exerts
a force to the right on the cylinder. A rope wrapped
around the core, which has radius R2, exerts a force
downward on the cylinder.
❑What is the net torque acting on the cylinder about
the rotation axis (which is the z axis)?
Newton’s Second Law for rotational
motion
 When a rigid object is subject to a net torque (≠0), it
undergoes an angular acceleration

S = I
 The angular acceleration is directly proportional to the
net torque
 The angular acceleration is inversely proportional to the
moment of inertia of the object
The relationship is analogous to
 F = ma


April 2, 2023
Newton’s Second Law for rotational
motion (proof)
Consider a particle of mass m rotating in a circle of
radius r under the influence of
Net radial force = Fr
Net tangential force = Ft
•The radial net force causes the
particle to move in the circular path
with a centripetal acceleration.
•The tangential force provides a
tangential acceleration
 F = ma
t t
Newton’s Second Law for rotational
motion
 F = ma
t t

The magnitude of the net torque due to

tangential force on the particle about an
axis through the center of the circle is

 net =  Ft r = mat r
= m ( r ) r
= mr 
2

= I
the net torque acting on the particle is proportional to its angular
acceleration, and the proportionality constant is the moment of inertia
Newton’s Second Law for rotational
motion (proof)
Consider a particle of mass m rotating in a circle of
radius r under the influence of
Net radial force = Fr
Net tangential force = Ft
•The radial net force causes the
particle to move in the circular path
with a centripetal acceleration.
•The tangential force provides a
tangential acceleration
 F = ma
t t
 Newton’s Second Law for rotational
motion
 F = ma
t t

The magnitude of the net torque due to

tangential force on the particle about an
axis through the center of the circle is

 net =  Ft r = mat r
= m ( r ) r
= mr 2
= I
the net torque acting on the particle is proportional to its angular
acceleration, and the proportionality constant is the moment of
inertia
 Newton’s Second Law for rotational
motion
• A rigid object of arbitrary shape rotating about a
fixed axis passing through a point O as in Figure
10.11 can be regarded as a collection of particles
of mass mi.
• If we impose a Cartesian coordinate system on
the object, each particle rotates in a circle about
the origin and each has a tangential acceleration
ai produced by an external tangential force of
magnitude Fi.
• For any given particle, we know from Newton’s
second law that

𝐹𝑖 = 𝑚𝑎𝑖
 Newton’s Second Law for rotational
motion
• The external torque 𝜏𝑖 associated with the force
𝐹𝑖 acts about the origin and its magnitude is given
by

• the net torque on the object about an axis

through O due to all external forces
 Newton’s Second Law for rotational
motion

• This quantity I is called the moment of

inertia of the object.
• It depends on the masses of the
particles making up the object and
their distances from the rotation axis.
• The moment of inertia has units of kg ·
m2 in SI units.
 What is a Moment of Inertia?

•It is a measure of an object’s resistance to

changes to its rotation.
•It must be specified with respect to a chosen
axis of rotation.
•It is usually quantified in kgm2
Moment of Inertia of Point Mass
 For a single particle, the definition of moment of
inertia is
I = mr 2

 m is the mass of the single particle

 r is the rotational radius

 SI units of moment of inertia are kg.m2

 Moment of inertia and mass of an object are
different quantities
 It depends on both the quantity of matter and its
distribution (through the r2 term)
April 2, 2023
Moment of Inertia of Point Mass
 For a composite particle system, the definition of moment
of inertia is
I =  mi ri = m1r1 + m2 r2 + m3r3 + m4 r4 + ...
2 2 2 2 2

 mi is the mass of the ith single particle

 ri is the rotational radius of ith particle
 SI units of moment of inertia are kg.m2
 Consider an unusual baton made up of four sphere fastened
to the ends of very light rods
 Find I about an axis perpendicular to the page and passing
through the point O where the rods cross
I =  mi ri = mb 2 + Ma 2 + mb 2 + Ma 2 = 2Ma 2 + 2mb 2
2

April 2, 2023
Rotational Dynamics; Torque and
Rotational Inertia
The quantity is called the rotational
inertia (moment of inertia) of an object.
The distribution of mass matters here—these two
objects have the same mass, but the one on the left has
a greater rotational inertia, as so much of its mass is far
from the axis of rotation.
Moment of Inertia of Extended Objects

 Divided the extended objects into many small volume

elements, each of mass Dmi
 We can rewrite the expression for I in terms of Dm
I = lim  ri 2 Dmi =  r 2 dm
Dmi →0
i

 Consider a small volume such that dm = r dV. Then

I =  r r 2 dV

 If r is constant, the integral can be evaluated with known

geometry, otherwise its variation with position must be
known
April 2, 2023
Densities
 You know the density (volume density) as mass/unit
volume
 r = M/V = dm/dV => dm = rdV
 We can define other densities such as surface
density (mass/unit area)
 s = M/A = dm/dA => dm = sdA
 Or linear density (mass/unit length)
 l = M/L = dm/dx => dm = ldl

April 2, 2023
 Moment of Inertia
of a Uniform Rigid Rod

 The shaded area has a

mass
 dm = l dx
 Then the moment of
inertia is
L /2 M
I y =  r 2 dm =  x2 dx
− L /2 L
1
I= ML2
12

April 2, 2023
Moment of Inertia Solid Cylinder
•Mass=M, Length=L, radius=r, axis= z-axis, density of mass is ρ.

•divide the cylinder into many cylindrical shells, each having radius r, thickness dr,
and length L.

•Volume of each cylindrical shell is dV = 2 rLdr

Moment of Inertia for some other
common shapes

April 2, 2023
April 2, 2023
Parallel-Axis Theorem
 In the previous examples, the axis of
rotation coincides with the axis of symmetry
of the object
 For an arbitrary axis, the parallel-axis
theorem often simplifies calculations
 The theorem states D

I = ICM + MD 2
 I is about any axis parallel to the axis through the
center of mass of the object
 ICM is about the axis through the center of mass
 D is the distance from the center of mass axis to
the arbitrary axis

April 2, 2023
Parallel-Axis Theorem
 The moment of inertia
about y is
L /2 M
I y =  r 2 dm =  x2 dx
− L /2 L
1
I= ML2
12
 The moment of inertia
about y’ is
1 L 1
I y ' = I CM + MD 2 = ML2 + M ( ) 2 = ML2
12 2 3
April 2, 2023
Parallel-Axis Theorem
Superposition of Moment of Inertia
Rotational motion
Using the Newton 2nd Law for Rotational
+Translational motion
• Draw or sketch system. Adopt coordinates, indicate rotation axes, list the
known and unknown quantities, …
• Draw free body diagrams of key parts. Show forces at their points of
application. Find torques about a (common) axis Note: can have
Fnet = 0
• May need to apply Second Law twice, once to each part but net ≠ 0
 
➢ Translation: Fnet =  Fi = ma
  
➢ Rotation: net =  i = I

• Make sure there are enough (N) equations; there may be constraint
equations (extra conditions connecting unknowns)
• Simplify and solve the set of (simultaneous) equations.
• Find unknown quantities and check answers April 2, 2023
The Falling Object
 A solid, frictionless cylindrical reel of mass
M = 2.5 kg and radius R = 0.2 m is used to
draw water from a well. A bucket of mass
m = 1.2 kg is attached to a cord that is
wrapped around the cylinder.
 (a) Find the tension T in the cord and
acceleration a of the object.
 (b) If the object starts from rest at the top
of the well and falls for 3.0 s before hitting
the water, how far does it fall ?

April 2, 2023
Newton 2nd Law for Rotation
 Draw free body diagrams
of each object
 Only the cylinder is
rotating, so apply
S  = I r

 The bucket is falling, but

a
not rotating, so apply
S F = ma
 Remember that a = r
and solve the resulting mg
equations
April 2, 2023
 • Cord wrapped around disk, hanging weight
• Cord does not slip or stretch → constraint
• Disk’s rotational inertia slows accelerations
• Let m = 1.2 kg, M = 2.5 kg, r =0.2 m
For mass m:

y
T F y = ma = mg − T r

m T = m( g − a) Unknowns: T, a
support force
a
g at axis “O” has
FBD for disk, with axis at “o”: zero torque
1
N  0 = + Tr = I where, I = Mr 2 2
Tr m( g − a)r
= = 1 2 Unknowns: a,  mg
T Mg I 2
Mr

So far: 2 Equations, 3 unknowns →Need a a = r

constraint: and
Substitute
solve:
2mgr 2m r 2

 1 + 2
m  2mg =
mg
(= 24 rad / s 2 )
= − = r (m + M / 2)
Mr 2 Mr 2  M  Mr
April 2, 2023
• Cord wrapped around disk, hanging weight
• Cord does not slip or stretch → constraint
• Disk’s rotational inertia slows accelerations
• Let m = 1.2 kg, M = 2.5 kg, r =0.2 m

For mass m: F y = ma = mg − T
r
T
T = m( g − a) Unknowns: T, a
y
mg
m = (= 24 rad/s 2 ) a
g r (m + M / 2)
support force
mg at axis “O” has
a= (= 4.8 m/s 2 ) zero torque
(m + M / 2)

T = m( g − a) = 1.2(9.8 − 4.8) = 6 N mg

1 1
x f − xi = vi t + at 2 = 0 + (4.8 m/s 2 )(3 s) 2 = 21.6 m
2 2

April 2, 2023
P-40:
A block of mass m1=2.00 kg and a block of mass m2=6.00 kg are connected by a massless string over a
pulley in the shape of a solid disk having radius R =0.250 m and mass M =10.0 kg.
The fixed, wedge-shaped ramp makes an angle of 𝜃 = 30𝑜 as shown in Figure.
The coefficient of kinetic friction is 0.360 for both blocks.
(a) Draw force diagrams of both blocks and of the pulley. Determine
(b) the acceleration of the two blocks and
(c) the tensions in the string on both sides of the pulley.