EXPERIMENT NO.

103 MOMENT OF INERTIA

INTRODUCTION

Moment of inertia is the measure of the rotational inertia of rigid body. It is the resistance of a
rigid body to any change in its rotational motion about a specified axis. Moment of inertia, a scalar
quantity, is the rotational equivalent of mass.

OBJECTIVES

1. To determine the moment of inertia of a disk about an axis through its center perpendicular to its
plane.

2. To determine the moment of inertia of a disk about an axis through its diameter.

MATERIALS

1 set rotating platform

1 pc disk
1 pc photogate
1 pc smart timer
1 pc smart pulley
1 set weights
1 pc mass hanger
1 pc vernier caliper
1 pc ruler

THEORY

The moment of inertia of a particle rotating about an axis is given by the expression,
I =mr 2 (eqn. 1)
where m is the mass of the particle and r is the shortest or perpendicular distance relative to the axis
of rotation. For a group of particles,
N
I =∑ mi r 2i =m1 r 21 +m 2 r 22 +m 3 r32+⋯
i =1 (eqn. 2)

For a rigid body consisting of continuous distribution of mass, the moment of inertia can be
computed by taking the integral of the masses relative to the axis of rotation,
I=∫ r2 dm (eqn. 3)
The differential mass dm can be expressed in terms of elemental volume dV and the density ρ .
Recall that density is mass per unit volume, ρ=dm/ dV . Equation 3 can be written as
I=∫ r ρ dV
2
(eqn. 4)
If the density of the body is uniform,
I=ρ ∫ r 2 dV (eqn. 5)
MOMENT OF INERTIA OF DISK (about an axis through its center)

Consider a disk of mass M, thickness L, and radius R (See Figure 1) rotated about an axis
through its center and perpendicular to its plane.

From Eqn 5,
I=ρ ∫ r 2 dV , and the infinitesimal volume dV =( 2 π r L dr )
R
I=ρ ∫0 r 2 ( 2 π r L dr )
R
I =2 π ρ L ∫0 r 3 dr
2π ρ L 4
I= (R )
4
1
I= ( ρ π R 2 L ) ( R 2 )
2 (eqn. 6)
The total volume of disk,
V =π R 2 L
the total mass of disk
M=ρ V =ρ π R 2 L
and the moment of inertia of solid disk is
1
I = MR 2
2 (eqn. 7)

MOMENT OF INERTIA OF DISK (about an axis through its diameter)

Consider a disk of mass M, thickness L, and radius R (See Figure 2) rotated about an axis
through its diameter (See Figure 2). Its moment of Inertia is

axis

(eqn. 8)
R 1
I = MR 2
Figure 2 4
Newton’s Second Law of Motion for a Rotating Rigid Body

The ability of a force to rotate a body about an axis is a quantity called torque.
Mathematically,
torque=force×lever arm
τ=F d (eqn. 8)
Consider a rigid body that consisting of particles at various distances from the axis of
rotation, which is acted upon by an applied force F .

From Newton’s second law,

F net =ma

and multiplying the above equation by R yields

F net⋅R=m R a
The tangential acceleration a is equal to the product of radius and angular acceleration α ,
a=R α and
F net⋅R=τ net .
τ net =mR 2 α
2
Recall that mR is moment of inertia I . Thus, newton’s second law of motion for rigid body is
τ net =I α (eqn. 9)

EXPERIMENTAL VALUE OF MOMENT OF INERTIA

Consider top view of the experimental set up. See Figure 3 . The unbalanced force
necessary to accelerate the disk and ring equals the difference between the weight added on the
pan and the tension on the thread, mg−T .

From Newton’s Second Law,

τ net =I α , T r=I α
(mg−ma ) r=I α , α=a/r
a
( mg−ma ) r=I
r
Thus, the experimental value of moment of inertia is

m ( g−a) r 2
I=
a (eqn. 10)

where: m = mass added plus mass of pan

(note: do not include friction mass)
a = acceleration of disk/ring, value
Figure 3 taken from the smart timer reading
r = radius of shaft to which the thread is wound

3
PROCEDURE

A. Setting-up the Equipment

1. Attach the mounting rod to the smart pulley and photogate head. Connect a mass hanger
to a thread (thread must pass over the smart pulley) and loop it around the cylinder along
the vertical shaft. See Figure 4.

2. Securely place the disk on the center vertical shaft.

3. Connect the smart timer to the photogate head and plug it to 220V source.

B. Determination of Moment of Inertia of Disk rotated about the center.

1. Mount the disk on to the rotating platform. Use the vernier caliper to measure the
diameter of the shaft to which the thread is wound. Record the radius of this shaft as r.

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2. To overcome kinetic friction, small amount of mass must be added on the pan and let it
drop with a constant speed. This small mass is called friction mass. Take note, however,
that it will take less friction mass to compensate the effect of friction.

3. For the first trial, add more mass and record its acceleration. The smart timer must be
set to ACCEL, LINEAR PULLEY.

4. Solve for the experimental moment of inertia of the disk using equation 10. The friction
mass is not included in the computation of moment of inertia.

5. Compute for the percent difference.

| EV 1−EV 2 |
= × 100

Percent Difference
( EV 1+ EV 2
2 )
C. Determination of Moment of Inertia of Disk rotated about its diameter

1. Remove the disk from the vertical shaft. Insert the shaft into the D-shaped hole at the
side of the disk.

2. Repeat steps 3 to 5 of procedure B and fill out table 2.

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 EXPERIMENT NO. 103 : MOMENT OF INERTIA

Name Group No.

Course/Year Seat No.
Subject/Section Date

TABLE 1. Determination of Moment of Inertia of Disk (rotated about the center)

mass of disk,
M DISK = ______________ grams Moment of Inertia of Disk (from Eqn. 7):
R
radius of disk, DISK = ______________ cm I DISK = _____________________ g-cm2

friction mass = __________ grams radius, r = ___________ cm

Moment of Inertia of Disk (from Eqn.
(mass of pan + mass added), m acceleration, a
10):

grams cm/s2 gcm2

% difference %

TABLE 2. Determination of Moment of Inertia of Disk (rotated about the diameter)

mass of disk,
M DISK = ______________ grams Moment of Inertia of Disk (from Eqn. 8):
R
radius of disk, DISK = ______________ cm I DISK = ___________________ g-cm2

friction mass = __________ grams radius , r = ____________ cm

Moment of Inertia of Disk (from Eqn.
(mass of pan + mass added), m acceleration, a
10):

grams cm/s2 gcm2

% difference %

Approved by:

Instructor Date