Q.

Does moment of inertia change with the change in the axis of rotation?

A.1

Yes, the moment of inertia depends upon the axis rotation and the distribution of mass
about the axis of rotation. If the mass is situated close to the axis MI is small , if the mass
is situated at large distance from axis MI is large.

Q.2

Why is it difficult to revolve a tring by tying it to longer string then to the shorter string/

A.2

Tying the stone to longer string will increases the distance of mass from the axis of
rotation. Thus MI of the mass increases and more torque is required to rotate it.

Q.3

Will two spheres of equal mass and equal radius have the same MI?

A.3

No, because although the mass and radius are same the distribution of mass is different.
IN hollow sphere all the mass is situated at distance equal to radius whereas in solid
sphere the mass is uniformly distributed. Thus hollow sphere has larger MI.

Q.4

The speed of inner layer of tornado is alarmingly high. Why?

A.4

As whirl wind the air from nearby regions gets concentrated in small region. Thus the
moment of inertia of rotating air decreases and thus angular velocity of the rotation
increases.

Q.5

How will you distinguish between raw egg and hard boiled egg?

A.5

The egg which rotates faster will be hard boiled egg, because it rotates as a rigid body.
When raw egg is rotated the liquid moves to the edges of egg inside it. Thus the moment
of inertia of the egg increases and more torque is required to rotate it at the same rate as
hard boiled egg.

Q.6

The angular velocity of revolution of earth around sun increases, when the it comes closer
to sun. why?

A.6

As no external torque is acting on the earth when it revolves around the sun in elliptical
orbits with sun at one of the foci. Thus, when it comes closer to sun in the orbit, its MI
decreases and to conserve angular momentum the angular velocity will increase.

Q.7

If no external torque acts on the system, will its angular velocity remains constant?

A.7

Law of conservation of angular momentum states that if no external torque acts on the
body the angular momentum is constant. Thus, product of I is constant, angular velocity
can be constant of I is also constant.

Q.8

In flywheel most of the mass is concentrated at the rim. Explain why?

A.8

In flywheel mass is concentrated at the rim to increase the moment of inertia of the
flywheel. Thus if there is some change in rotational kinetic energy, the change in angular
velocity is small. This helps in maintaining uniform motion of the flywheel.

Q.9

How the diver leaves the diving board, why he brings his feet close together in order to
make a somersault?

A.9

By bringing the hands and feet closer he decreases the moment of inertia of his body. As
no external torque is acting on the body, decreasing the MI will increase the angular
speed of the body and it is able to make a somersault.

Q.10 A cat is able to land on her feet after a fall. Explain.

A.10 When a cat falls to the ground, it stretches the body along the fall. Thus stretching the
body will increase the moment of inertia of the body and in turn decreases the tendency
to rotate by decreasing angular velocity.

Q.11 If angular momentum is conserved in a system whose MI is decreased, will its rotational
kinetic energy be conserved? Explain.
A.11 Kinetic energy and angular momentum are related as E = L2/2I, thus decreasing the
moment of inertia and keeping L constant will increase the kinetic energy of rotation of
the body.

Q.12 A particle moves in the circular path with the decreasing speed. What happens to the

angular momentum?
A.12 The angular momentum of mass m moving in circle of radius r is mvr, thus if speed of the
particle decreases the angular momentum will decrease but the direction of the angular
momentum remains unchanged.

Q.13 A projectile acquires angular momentum about point of projection during its flight. Will it
remain constant?
A.13 A body acquires angular momentum due to torque acting on the body due to gravity. As
torque is acting on the body its angular momentum is not conserved.

Q.14 Why is ladder more apt to slip when you are high up on it then when you just begins to
climb?
A.14 When a person is on the ladder than torque acts due to weight about the point of contact,
thus when person is high up the perpendicular distance between line of action of weight
and the point of contact increases. Thus large torque acts and the person tends to slip
down.

Q.15 What is difference between work and torque as both are force multiplied by distance?
A.15 Work is scalar quantity and it is measured as the energy spend in moving a body through
distance S by force F in direction of force. Whereas torque is vector and it measures the
turning effect of the given force.

Q.16 A planet moves around the sun under the effect of the gravitational force exerted by the
sun. why is the torque on the planet due to the gravitational force zero?
A.16 As torque is rfsin, since the gravitational force acts along the line radius vector r toque is
zero.

Q.17 How does ice skater or a ballet dancer takes advantage of the principle of conservation of

angular momentum?
A.17 They take advantage by stretching out arm sor legs or by bringing them closer. If they
bring their arms closer MI decreases thus to conserve angular momentum the angular
velocity should increase.

Q.18 In ice on the polar caps melts, how will it effect the duration of the day?
A.18 When ice on the polar caps melts mass which is freezing near the axis of rotation melts
and spreads away from the axis. Thus the MI increases and the angular velocity of earth
decreases, thus duration of the day will increase.

Q.19 If two bodies have same angular momentum but different MI, which will have greater
kinetic energy?
A.19

Kinetic energy of the rotation is E = L2/2I. Thus if L is same kinetic energy is inversely
proportional to the MI. thus, the body having larger MI will have smaller kinetic energy.

Q.20 For a given mass and size solid disc will have smaller MI than ring why?
A.20

In ring the mass is situated at large distance from the axis rotation whereas in the disc it is
uniform distribution of mass.

Q.21 If earth were to shrink suddenly what happens to the duration of the day?
A.21

If earth shrinks suddenly without any change in the mass the MI will decrease, thus to
conserve angular momentum the angular velocity of the rotation of earth will increase.
Time period of rotation of earth will decrease and days will be shorter.

Q.22 Explain why angular velocity of the star is enhances when it collapses due to the
gravitational pull and becomes neutron star?
A.22 When the star collapses the MI of the star will decrease, thus to conserve angular
momentum the angular velocity is increased.

Q.23 Two solid spheres of same mass are made of different densities. Which one will have
larger MI?
A.23

If mass of the two sphere is same then moment of inertia is directly proportional to the
square of radius. As the sphere having smaller density will be larger in size it will have
larger moment of inertia.

Q.24 Can a body in translatory motion have angular momentum?

A.24

yes, body in linear motion will also have the angular momentum unless the moving point
lies on the line of rotation.

Q.25 Is radius of gyration of the body a constant quantity?

A.25

No, radius of gyration of the body depends on the MI of the body. As MI changes with
the change in axis of rotation therefore if we change axis radius of gyration will also
change.

Q.26 Where does the center of mass of uniform triangular lamina lies?
A.26

It lies at the centroid of the triangle i.e. where the three medians of the triangle intersect.

Q.27 Is torque scalar or vector quantity?

A.27 Torque is a vector quantity and its direction is given by right hand curl rule. We place the
fingers of right hand in the direction of radius vector and turn them towards force vector
then thumb gives us the direction of the torque vector. It is always perpendicular to both r
as well as F.

Q.28 A thin wheel can stay upright for considerable length of time when rolled at high speed
but falls when speed decreases?
A.28 When the wheel is rolling it possesses the angular momentum in direction along the axis

of the wheel. Thus in absence of external torque it can stand upright whereas when
friction reduces the angular velocity to zero it falls due to the moment of weight.

Q.29 A particle performs uniform circular motion with angular momentum L. if the frequency
of rotation is reduced to double and kinetic energy is halved how will the angular
momentum be affected?
A.29

E = I2/2, thus if kinetic energy is halved and frequency is doubled it implies that I
becomes 1/8th.The angular momentum is given by L = 2IE. Thus L becomes L/4

Q.30 Why is handle of the screw made wide?

A.30

Screw rotates when torque acts on the screw larger torque acts if the force is exerted at
large distance from the axis. Thus handle is made wide.

Q.31 If a body is rotating, is it essential that external torque acts on the body/
A.31

No, external torque is required to change the angular velocity of the body, a body in
rotation can keep its motion in absence of torque.

Q.32 Can center of mass of the body coincides with the geometrical center of the body?
A.32 Yes, for symmetrical body having uniform density of mass the center of mass and the
geometrical center coincides.