Republic of the Philippines

Mountain Province State Polytechnic College

Bontoc, Mountain Province

ROTATIONAL DYNAMICS

Module 6 of 8 Modules

General Physics

Elsa B. Daguio
CP #: 09074186867
Messenger account: Herzelle Bag-ay Daguio

Engineering Department

First Semester, School Year 2022-2023

INTRODUCTION

This module covers the concepts on torque, rotational inertia, and conditions of
equilibrium. The activities here are designed for all students, regardless of gender and
cultural background. The number of hours allotted for this module shall be 14 hours.

LEARNING OUTCOMES

At the end of the module, you should be able to:

1. determine the resultant torque about any axis given the magnitude and
locations of forces on an extended object;
2. relate rotational inertia with torque;
3. compute the rotational inertia about any axis of different kinds of masses;
and
4. calculate the tension on strings supporting objects in equilibrium.

PRETEST

Let see if you are knowledgeable with torque, rotational inertia and conditions of
equilibrium. Take time to answer the following questions by encircling the letter of
your answer before proceeding to the given lessons. Submit a copy of this together
with the other activities in this module. Take note of the items that you do not know or
not sure of. As you go through the lessons, discover the correct answers and learn
from them.

1. Which of the following is the equivalent unit for torque?

a. Kilogram – meter
b. Newton
c. Newton – meter
d. Watt

2. Which of the following is the equivalent unit for rotational inertia?

a. Kilogram – meter2
b. Kilogram per meter2
c. Newton – meter2
d. Newton per meter2

3. To easily open a door, which of the following directions should you place your
hand on the door knob?
a. Parallel to the door
b. Perpendicular to the door
c. At a certain angle with the door
d. None of the above

4. Which of the following tends to produce rotation?

a. Opening the cap of a bottled water
b. Opening a window
c. Playing golf
d. All of the above

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5. In nailing, where should you hold the handle of the hammer in order to acquire
the greatest impact on the nail?
a. Near the hammer head
b. At the middle of the handle
c. At the end of the handle
d. None of the above

6. In lifting a boulder using a lever, where should you place a fulcrum in order to
minimize the force to be applied?
a. At the nearer end of the lever where the boulder is placed
b. At the center of the lever
c. At the nearer end of the lever where you will apply the force
d. All of the above

7. In order for rotation not to occur, where should you sit on the seesaw?
a. At the end of the seesaw
b. At the middle of one side of the seesaw
c. At the middle of the seesaw
d. All of the above

8. Which of the following produces more torque in loosening a bolt?

a. Applying a 30 – N force on a wrench with a 0.5 – m long lever
b. Applying a 15 – N force on a wrench with a 1.0 – m long lever
c. Applying a 10 – N force on a wrench with a 1.5 – m long lever
d. Applying an 8 – N force on a wrench with a 2 – m long lever

9. In a 6 – m long seesaw, a 60 – lb girl sits at one end of the seesaw. Where should
a 120 – lb boy sit in order to balance the seesaw?
a. At the other end of the seesaw
b. At the middle half of one side of the seesaw
c. At the middle of the seesaw
d. All of the above

10. Which of the following shows a state of equilibrium?

a. A hanging chandelier
b. A book on top of a table
c. Children playing on a seesaw
d. All of the above

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LESSON 1: TORQUE

Objectives:
At the end of the lesson, you should be able to:
1. calculate the lever arm or the perpendicular distance from the point of
application of force to the axis of rotation of objects; and
2. determine the resultant torque of an object about any given axis.

LET’S ENGAGE

Which is easier to use in pulling out a nail, a claw hammer with a short handle or with
the longer one?

(Sawyers, 2010)

LET’S TALK ABOUT IT

Every time we push a door open or tighten a bolt using a wrench, we apply a
force that results in a rotational motion about a fixed axis. Through experience we
learn that where the force is applied and how the force is applied is just as important
as how much force is applied when we want to make something rotate. This module is
all about the dynamics of an object rotating about a fixed axis and introduces the
concepts of torque and moment of inertia. These concepts allows us to get a better
understanding of why pushing a door towards its hinges is not a very effective way to
make it open, why using a longer wrench makes it easier to loosen a tight bolt, etc.

Every time you open a door, turn on a water faucet, or tighten a nut with a
wrench, you exert a turning force as shown in Figure 15.1. This turning force
produces a torque. Torque is different from force. If you want to make an object move,
apply a force. Forces tend to make things accelerate. If you want to make an object
turn or rotate, apply a torque. Torque produces rotation.

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 (Hewitt, 2005)
Figure 15.1: A torque produces rotation.

A torque is produced when a force is applied with “leverage”. You use leverage
when you use a claw hammer to pull a nail from a piece of wood. The longer the
handle of the hammer, the greater the leverage and the easier the task. The
longer handle of a crowbar provides even more leverage. You use leverage when you
use a screwdriver or a table knife to open the lid of a paint can.
A torque is used when opening a door. A doorknob is placed far away from the
turning axis at its hinges to provide more leverage when you push or pull on the
doorknob. In opening a door, you’d never push or pull the doorknob sideways to make
the door turn. You push perpendicular to the plane of the door.

If you have used both short – and long – handled wrenches, you also know that
less effort and more leverage result with a long handle. When the force is
perpendicular, the distance from the turning axis to the point of contact is called the
lever arm or sometimes called as moment arm. If the force is not applied at a right
angle to the lever arm, then only the perpendicular component of the force will
contribute to the torque. Torque is defined as

The unit of torque is Newton – meter. Work is also measured in newton – meters
(joules), but work and torque are different. What contributes to work is the force along
the direction of motion; what contributes to torque is the force perpendicular to the
lever arm. By convention, counter clockwise (CCW) torques are positive and clockwise
(CW) torques are negative.

Balanced Torques

Torques are intuitively familiar to youngsters playing on a seesaw. Children can

balance a seesaw even when their weights are not equal. Weight alone does not
produce rotation – torque does. Children soon learn that the distance they sit from the
pivot point is as important as their weight as shown in Figure 15.2. The heavier boy
sits a shorter distance from the fulcrum (turning axis) while the lighter girl sits farther
away. Balance is achieved if the torque that tends to produce clockwise rotation by the
boy equals the torque that tends to produce counter clockwise rotation by the girl.

4
 (Hewitt, 2005)
Figure 15.2: A pair of torques can balance each other.

Torque and Center of Gravity

If you stand with your back and heels to the wall and then attempt to lean over
and touch you toes, you will soon find yourself rotating as shown in Figure 15.3.
Recall from Module 1:Lesson 3 that if there is no base of support beneath the center of
gravity, an object will topple. When the area bounded by your feet is not beneath your
CG, there is a torque. Now you can see that the cause of toppling is this torque.

(Hewitt, 2005)
Figure 15.3: The L – shaped bracket will topple because of a torque. Similarly, when you
stand with your back and heels to the wall and then try to touch your toes, a torque is
produced when your CG extends beyond your feet.

5
Example 1: Suppose that a meterstick is supported at the center, and a 20 – N block is
hung at the 80 – cm mark. Another block of unknown weight just balances the system
when it is hung at the 10 – cm mark. What is the weight of the second block?

Solution:
To compute the unknown weight, we apply the principle of balanced torques. The
block of unknown weight tends to rotate the system counter clockwise, and the
20 – N block tends to rotate the system clockwise. The system is balanced when
the two torques are equal:

( ) ( )

Example 2: An 80 – N force acts at the end of a 12 – cm wrench as shown. Find the

torque.

Solution:

( )
( )

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 Alternative Solution:

The moment arm should be perpendicular to the applied force.

Calculating the moment arm, using basic trigonometric function:

Calculating the torque:

( )
( )

Example 3: Two thin disk-shaped wheels, of radii and , are

attached to each other on an axle that passes through the center of each, as shown.
Calculate the net torque on this compound wheel due to the two forces shown, each of
magnitude 50 N.

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Solution:
Consider :

( )

makes a counterclockwise rotation about the center of the wheel, thus the
torque is positive.

Consider :

Since the parallel component of the force coincides with the lever arm, , then
there will be zero torque and only the perpendicular component of the force will
be considered.

( )

makes a clockwise rotation about the center of the wheel, thus the torque is
negative.

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 Net Torque:

( )

Example 4: Find the resultant torque about axis A for the arrangement shown.

Solution:
Find the torque due to each force.
Consider the 20N force first:

( )
( )

Consider the 30N force next:

( )
( )

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 Consider the 40N force next:

( )
( )

Resultant torque:

( )

Example 5: Find the resultant torque of the system shown.

Solution:
Consider the 950 N force:

( )
( )
( )

Consider the 875 N force:

( )
( )

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 Consider the 1200 N force:

( )
( )
( )

Resultant Torque:

( )

IT’S YOUR TURN

Activity 1: Copy and answer the following problems. Make sure that your handwriting
is legible. Your solutions must be organized and detailed and avoid erasures as much
as possible. Use long bond papers ( ). See Appendix A for additional content of
your first page and the rubric for scoring.
1. In the picture below, the person on the left weighs 900 N, and the person on the
right weighs 400 N. If the person on the right is sitting 3 m from the fulcrum and
the seesaw is balanced, how far must the person on the left be from the fulcrum?
( )

2. Calculate the resultant torque from point A of the system shown. ( )

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LESSON 2: ROTATIONAL INERTIA

Objectives:
At the end of the lesson, you should be able to:
1. calculate the rotational inertia of a rotating body applying the given
formulas;
2. calculate the angular velocity of a rotating body applying the relationship
of torque with rotational inertia; and
3. calculate the number of rotations or revolutions of a rotating body applying
the given formulas.

LET’S ENGAGE

Why is it easier to swing your legs back and forth when they are bent?

(Hewitt, 2005)
LET’S TALK ABOUT IT

In Lesson 2 of Module 2, you learned about inertia: An object at rest tends to

stay at rest, and an object in motion tends to remain moving in a straight line. There
is a similar law for rotation: “An object rotating about an axis tends to keep rotating
about that axis.”

The resistance of an object to changes in its rotational motion is called

rotational inertia. Rotating objects tend to keep rotating, while nonrotating objects
tend to stay nonrotating.

Just as it takes a force to change the linear state of motion of an object, a

torque is required to change the rotational state of motion of an object. In the absence
of a net torque, a rotating top keeps rotating, while a nonrotating top stays
nonrotating.

Like inertia in the linear sense, rotational inertia depends on mass. But unlike
inertia, rotational inertia depends on the distribution of the mass. The greater the
distance between the bulk of the mass of an object and the axis about which rotation
takes place, the greater the rotational inertia.

A long baseball bat held near its end has more rotational inertia than a short
bat. 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 it up to speed. A bat held at its end, or a long bat, doesn’t

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“want” to swing as readily. Likewise with legs of people and animals, long – legged
animals such as giraffes, horses, and ostriches normally run with slower gaits than
hippos, dachshunds, and mice.

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. You can try this with your outstretched leg. 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. That’s an important reason for running with your legs bent.

Formulas for Rotational Inertia

When the mass of an object is concentrated at the same distance from the
rotational axis, then the rotational inertia . When the mass is more spread
out, as in your leg, the rotational inertia is less and the formula is different. Figure
16.1 compares rotational inertias for various shapes and axes.

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14
Conservation of Angular Momentum

Just as the linear momentum of any system is conserved if no net forces are
acting on the system, angular momentum is conserved for systems in rotation. The
Law of Conservation of Momentum states that “If no unbalanced external torque
acts on a rotating system, the angular momentum of that system is constant.”
This means that with no external torque, the product of rotational inertia and
rotational velocity at one time will be the same as at any other time.

An interesting example of angular momentum conservation is shown in Figure

16.2. The man stands on a low – friction turntable with weights extended. Because of
the extended weights his overall rotational inertia is relatively large in this position. As
he slowly turns, his angular momentum is the product of his rotational inertia and
rotational velocity. When he pulls the weight inward, his over rotational inertia is
considerably decreased. What is the result? His rotational speed increases! This is best
appreciated by the turning person who feels changes in rotational speed that seem to
be mysterious. This procedure is used by a figure skater who starts to whirl with her
arms and perhaps a leg extended, and then draws her arms and leg in to obtain a
greater rotational speed. Whenever a rotating body contracts, its rotational speed
increases.

(Hewitt, 2005)
Figure 16.2: When the man pulls his arm and the whirling weights inward, he
decreases his rotational inertia, and his rotational speed correspondingly increases.

Table 16.1: Translational Motion and Rotational Motion

Translational Motion Quantity Rotational Motion
D Position
Displacement
Velocity

Acceleration
m Mass Inertia I
Newton’s Second Law
Work

Kinetic Energy

Power

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Example 1: A 100 – gram ball is connected to one end of a cord with a length of 30 cm.
What is the moment of inertia of the ball about the axis of rotation AB?

A
100 g

Solution:
For moment of inertia of a point mass:
, take note that mass is in kilograms and the radius of rotation is in
meters.

( )

( )
( )

Example 2: A 200 – gram ball, , and a 100 – gram ball, , are connected by a rod
with length of 60 cm. the axis of rotation is at the 100 – gram ball. What is the
moment of inertia of the balls? Ignore rod’s mass.

Solution:
For moment of inertia of a point mass:

Radius of rotation of the 200 – gram mass is 60 cm from the axis of rotation, and
the radius of rotation of the 100 – gram mass is 0 cm from the axis of rotation.
( ) ( )

Example 3: A 20 – kg uniform sphere has a radius of 0.1 m. The axis of rotation is at

the center of the sphere. What is the moment of inertia of the sphere?
Solution:
For moment of inertia of a solid sphere:

( )( )

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Example 4: A helicopter rotor blade can be considered a long thin rod as shown. If
each of the helicopter rotor blades is 3.75 m long and has a mass of 160 kg,
a. calculate the moment of inertia of the three rotor blades about the axis of
rotation.
b. how much torque must the motor apply to bring the blades up to a speed of 5
rev/s in 8 seconds?

Solution:
For moment of inertia of a thin rod:
a.

( )( )( )

b.
⁄ ( )

( )
( )

Example 5: A centrifuge rotor rotating at 10,300 rpm is shut off and is eventually
brought uniformly to rest by a frictional torque of 1.20 Nm. If the mass of the rotor is
4.80 kg and it can be approximated as a solid cylinder of radius 0.0710 m, through
how many revolutions will the rotor turn before coming to rest, and how long will it
take?
Solution:
Given:

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 Converting RPM to rad/s:

( )( ) ⁄
For solid cylinder with rotation through center:

( )( )

, from motion to rest, is negative.

( ) ( ) ( )

( ) ( )

( )
( )

( )

( )

Example 6: A 4.8 kg block is resting at the top of a 30 slope of height 1 m. It is

attached to a cylindrical pulley of mass 1.7 kg and radius 8 cm by a massless string
that unwinds as the block slides downhill. If the acceleration of the block is 1.9 ⁄ ,
a. what is the value of the coefficient of kinetic friction?
b. what is the velocity at the bottom of the slope?

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Solution:
a. From Newton’s Second Law of Motion:

The rotating cylindrical pulley causes the motion of the block. Thus,

From :

For solid cylinder:

( )( )

For acceleration:

⁄
( )

( ) ( )

From frictional force:

( )

( )

b.

√ ( )( )
⁄

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IT’S YOUR TURN

Activity 2: Copy and answer the following problems. Make sure that your handwriting
is legible. Your solutions must be organized and detailed and avoid erasures as much
as possible. Use long bond papers ( ). See Appendix A for additional content of
your first page and the rubric for scoring.
1. A 100 – gram ball, , and a 200 – gram ball, , are connected by a rod with a
length of 60 cm. The mass of the rod is ignored. The axis of rotation is located at
the center of the rod. What is the moment of inertia of the balls about the axis of
rotation? ( )

2. A propeller with three blades (treated as thin rods) of mass 12 kg each, length of
1.25 m each are relative to each other. If a torque acts on this,
a. what is the moment of inertia of the propeller? ( )
b. how long will it take to reach an angular velocity of ⁄ starting from
rest? ( )

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POST ASSESSMENT
Now let’s test if you have learned something from this module. Copy and answer
the following problems. Make sure that your handwriting is legible. Your solutions
must be organized and detailed and avoid erasures as much as possible. Use long
bond papers ( ). See Appendix A for additional content of your first page and
the rubric for scoring.
1. A 64 kg painter is standing 2.25 m distance up a ladder that is 3.0 m long. If the
ladder makes an angle of 69 with the ground, what torque does the painter’s
weight exert on the ladder? ( )

2. A 60 N block is resting at the top of a slope of height 2 m. It is attached to a

thin walled – cylindrical pulley of mass 5 kg and radius 30 cm by a massless
string that unwinds as the block slides downhill. If the acceleration of the block
is 2.5 ⁄ ,
a. what is the value of the coefficient of kinetic friction? ( )
b. what is the velocity at the bottom of the slope? ( )

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APPENDIX A

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Rubric:
Insufficient Fair Good Very Good Excellent
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )
of the of the of the of the of the
written written written written written
Accuracy
solution are solution is solution is solution is solution is
correct. correct. correct. correct. correct.
of the of the of the of the of the
written written written written written
Completion
solution is solution is solution is solution is solution is
completed. completed. completed. completed. completed.
of the of the of the of the of the
written written written written written
Legibility
solution are solution are solution are solution are solution are
legible. legible. legible. legible. legible.
of the of the of the of the of the
written written written written written
solution is solution is solution is solution is solution is
Neatness
neat with neat with neat with neat with few neat with no
many many several smudges. smudges.
smudges. smudges. smudges.
of the of the of the of the of the
written written written written written
Organization solution are solution are solution are solution are solution are
well- well- well- well- well-
organized. organized. organized. organized. organized.

REFERENCES

Hewitt, P. G. (2007). Conceptual physics (10th ed.) Jurong, Singapore: Pearson

Education South Asia Pte Ltd.

Serway, R. A., & Faughn, J. S. (1989). College physics (2nd ed.). New York, New York:
Sauders College Publishing.

Sawyers, H. (2010). Claw hammer with short and long handle. Retrieved from
https://www.thisoldhouse.com/tools/21017757/claw-hammers

Physics 04-01 Equilibrium. (n. d.) Retrieved from

https://www.andrews.edu/~rwright/physics/worksheets/Physics%2004-
01%20Equilibrium.pdf

Static Equilibrium (2009). Retrieved from

https://physicscourses.colorado.edu/phys1110/phys1110_fa12/LectureNotes/
StaticEquilibrium.pdf

Static Equilibrium. (n. d.). Retrieved from

https://www2.tntech.edu/leap/murdock/books/v2chap3.pdf

Static Equilibrium Force and Moment. (n. d.) Retrieved from

https://ocw.mit.edu/courses/civil-and-environmental-engineering/1-050-solid-
mechanics-fall-2004/readings/emech2_04.pdf

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