ANALYSIS:

The experiment is about moment of inertia. In the experiment we are to determine the mass of moment of inertia of a disk and a ring and to compare the moment of inertia of solid disk rotated at two different axes: at the center and along its diameter. The moment of inertia of an object about a given axis describes how difficult it is to change its angular motion about that axis. Therefore, it encompasses not just how much mass the object has overall, but how far each bit of mass is from the axis. The further out the object's mass is, the more rotational inertia the object has, and the more rotational force (torque, the force multiplied by its distance from the axis of rotation) is required to change its rotation rate. For example, consider two wheels suspended so they can turn freely, a large bicycle wheel and a small baby buggy wheel. Suppose they have the same weight, which means they have equal mass. It requires more effort (torque) to spin (accelerate) the bicycle wheel to a given angular velocity than the baby buggy wheel. This is because the rim of the bicycle wheel is further from its axis than the rim of the baby buggy wheel. Even though they have the same amount of mass, most of the mass of the bicycle wheel is located farther from the axis than the mass

in the baby buggy wheel, so it must move faster for a given rotation rate. So the bicycle wheel has a larger moment of inertia than the baby buggy wheel. The moment of inertia of an object can change if its shape changes. Figure skaters who begin a spin with arms outstretched provide a striking example. By pulling in their arms, they reduce their moment of inertia, causing them to spin faster by the conservation of angular momentum. The moment of inertia has two forms, a scalar form, I, (used when the axis of rotation is specified) and a more general tensor form that does not require the axis of rotation to be specified. The scalar moment of inertia, I, (often called simply the "moment of inertia") allows a succinct analysis of many simple problems in rotational dynamics, such as objects rolling down inclines and the behavior of pulleys. For instance, while a block of any shape will slide down a frictionless decline at the same rate, rolling objects may descend at different rates, depending on their moments of inertia. A hoop will descend more slowly than a solid disk of equal mass and radius because more of the hoop's mass is located far from the axis of rotation. However, for (more complicated) problems in which the axis of rotation can change, the scalar treatment is inadequate, and the tensor treatment must be used (although shortcuts are possible in special situations). Examples requiring such a treatment include gyroscopes, tops, and even satellites, all objects whose alignment can change. The moment of inertia is also called the mass moment of inertia (especially by mechanical engineers) to avoid confusion with the second moment of area, which is sometimes called the area moment of inertia (especially by structural engineers).

In the first part of the experiment we are ask to determine the moment of inertia of disk and ring rotated about the center. We set up the equipments according to the manual. In order to determine the moment of inertia of disk and ring we add a small mass to overcome kinetic friction. After overcoming kinetic friction we performed the procedures and get the acceleration. Using the equation in the manual we get the average of the three trials. Referring to table 1; the percent difference between the average computed value of the moment of inertia and the actual value of moment of inertia of disk and ring is 6.81%. The percentage error is quite big; this is due to some errors that we might commit during the experiment.

In the second part of the experiment we are ask to determine the moment of inertia of disk rotated about the center. We set up the equipments according to the manual. In order to determine the moment of inertia of disk we add a small mass to overcome kinetic friction just like in the first part. After overcoming kinetic friction we performed the procedures and get the acceleration. Using the equation in the manual we get the average of the three trials. Referring to table 2; the percent difference between the average computed value of the moment of inertia of the disk and the actual value of moment of inertia of disk is 6.54%. The percentage error is quite big; this is due to some errors that we might commit during the experiment just like in the first part.

In the third part of the experiment we are ask to determine the moment of inertia of ring. We computed the moment of inertia of ring using the equation in the manual. Referring to table 3; the percent difference between the value of the moment of inertia of the ring and the actual value of moment of inertia of ring is 0.0006%. Therefore the value that we computed is very close to the actual value of the moment of inertia of ring.

In the fourth part of the experiment we are ask to determine the moment of inertia of disk rotated about the diameter. We set up the equipments according to the manual. In order to

determine the moment of inertia of disk we add a small mass to overcome kinetic friction just like in the first part. After overcoming kinetic friction we performed the procedures and get the acceleration. Using the equation in the manual we get the average of the three trials. Referring to table 4; the percent difference between the average computed value of the moment of inertia of the disk and the actual value of moment of inertia of disk is 9.36%. The percentage error is quite big; this is due to some errors that we might commit during the experiment just like in the first part. TABLE 4. Determination of Moment of Inertia of Disk (rotated about the diameter) Mass of disk, MDISK = 1401.1 grams Radius of disk, RDISK = 11.4 cm Actual value of moment of inertia of disk IDISK = MDISK R2 IDISK = 45521.74 g-cm2 Friction mass = 5 grams radius, r = 2.96 cm Experimental value of moment TRIAL (mass of pan + mass added), m Acceleration, a 1.5 cm/s2 1.5 cm/s2 12 cm/s2 average % difference of inertia, I = m(g a)r2 a 1 2 3 5 grams 10 grams 15 grams 28577.42 gcm2 57154.84 gcm2 64266.34 gcm2 49992.87 gcm2 9.36 %