Module 4

ROTATIONAL KINEMATICS
Reference Book: Properties of Matter Dr. Tofazzal Hossain
MOMENT OF INERTIA:
According to Newtons first law of motion, a body must continue in its state of rest or of uniform motion
along a straight line, unless acted upon by an external force. This inertness or inability of a body to
change by itself its position of rest or of uniform motion is called inertia.
Exactly in the same manner, in case of rotational motion, also we find that, a body free to rotate about an
axis opposes any change desired to be produced in its state of rest or of rotation, showing that it
possesses inertia for this type of motion. It is the rotational inertia of the body, which is called moment of
inertia.
In case of linear motion, the inertia of a body depends on wholly on its mass. In case of rotational motion,
the inertia depends not only on its mass of the body but also on the effective distance of its particles from
the axis of rotation. So, two bodies of the same mass may possess different moments of inertia.
A rigid body can be considered as a system of particles in which the relative positions of the particles do
not change. The moment of inertia of a single particle I can be expressed as

where m = the mass of the particle, and r = the shortest distance from the axis of rotation to the particle.

KINETIC ENERGY OF ROTATION AND MOMENT OF INERTIA:

The kinetic energy of system of particles of masses m1, m2.mn is defined as
K.E =

1
1
1
1
2
2
2
2
m1v 1 m2v 2 m3v 3 - - - - - - - - - - m n v n
2
2
2
2
n

2 mv 2
i 1

Substituting v = r [where is the angular speed of the rotating body], we have

1
1
2
K.E = m i r i
2
i 1 2
n

i 1

mi ri2

in which is the same for all particles.

The quantity in the parentheses tells us how the mass of the rotating body is distributed about its axis of
rotation. This quantity is known as moment of inertia.
We may now write,
n

I mi ri 2
i 1

Thus,

K. E =

dm

1
I2
2

TORQUE:

The ability of a force F to rotate a body depends not only on the magnitude of its tangential component
Ft but also on just how far from the axis of rotation at O it is applied. To include both these factors, we
define a quantity called torque as
[r ][F sin ] , .. [1]
Two equivalent ways of computing the torque are
[r ][F sin ] rFt ,......... ..[ 2 ]

[r sin ][F ] r F,......... ...[ 3 ]

where r is the perpendicular distance between the axis of rotation at O and an extended line running

through the vector F . This extended line is called the line of action of F and r is called the moment

arm of F .
TABLE 1: ANALOGS IN ROTATIONAL AND LINEAR MOTION
LINEAR MOTION

ROTATION ABOUT A FIXED AXIS

Displacement

Angular displacement

velocity

dx
dt

Angular velocity

d
dt

Acceleration

dv
dt

Angular acceleration

d
dt

Mass [translational inertia]

Force
Work

F Ma
W

Fdx

Rotational inertia
Torque
Work

Kinetic energy

1
Mv 2
2

Kinetic energy

Power

P Fv

Power

I
W

1 2
I
2

Mv

Linear momentum

Angular momentum

TABLE2: COMPARISON OF LINEAR AND ANGULAR MOTION WITH CONSTANT ACCELERATION

LINEAR MOTION

ROTATION ABOUT A FIXED AXIS

a cons tan t

cons tan t

v v 0 at

0 t

x x0 v0 t

1 2
at
2

0 0 t

v 2 v 20 2a[ x x 0 ]
x x0

1 2
t
2

2 20 2[ 0 ]

1
[ v v 0 ]t
2

1
[ 0 ]t
2

RADIUS OF GYRATRION:
The radial distance from a given axis at which the mass of a body could be concentrated without altering
the rotational inertia of the body about that axis is called the radius of gyration. Let k represent radius of
gyration and it can be shown that
k

I M

General Theorems on Moment of Inertia:

There are two general theorems of great importance on moment of inertia which, in some cases, enables
us to determine the moment of inertia of a body about an axis, if its moment of inertia about some other
axis be known.
(i) The Principle of theorem of Perpendicular Axes:

In physics, the perpendicular axis theorem (or plane figure theorem) can be used to determine the
moment of inertia of a rigid object that lies entirely within a plane, about an axis at right angles to the
plane, given the moments of inertia of the object about two perpendicular axes lying within the plane. The
axes must all pass through a single point in the plane.

Define perpendicular axes X, Y, and Z (which meet at origin O) so that the body lies in the XY plane, and
the Z axis is perpendicular to the plane of the body. Let

IX be the moment of inertia of the body about the X axis;

IY be the moment of inertia of the body about the Y axis; and

IZ be the moment of inertia of the body about the Z axis.

The perpendicular axis theorem states that

IZ = IX + IY
(ii) The Principle of Theorem of Parallel Axes:
We can often simplify the calculation of moments of inertia for various bodies by using the parallel-axis
theorem, which relates the moment of inertia about an axis through the centre of mass of an object to the
moment of inertia about a second, parallel axis. Let I cm be the moment of inertia about an axis through the
centre of mass of an object of total mass M, and let I be that about a parallel axis a distance h away. The
parallel-axis theorem states that

I = ICM + Mh2
Particular cases of Moment of Inertia
1. Moment of Inertia of a Thin Uniform Rod
(i)

About an axis through its center and perpendicular to its length:

Let AB be a thin uniform rod of length L and mass M, free to rotate

about an axis CD through center O and perpendicular to its length.

Then its mass per unit length =

M
L

Let us consider a small element of length dx on it , at a distance x from O.

The mass of the small element

dm =

M
dx
L
M
dx
L

2
Moment of inertia of the small segment dx about the axis = x 2 dm = x

Thus the moment of inertia of the whole body,

L
2

L
2

M
2M 2 2
2M x 3

I 2 x 2 dm 2 x 2
dx
x
dx

L
L 0
L 3
0
0
(ii)

L
2
0

ML2
12

About an axis passing through one end and perpendicular to its length:

The treatment is the same as above, except that since the axis CD here passes through one end B of the
rod, the expression of the moment of inertia of the element of dx of the rod is now to be integrated
between the limit, x = 0, at B and x = L, at A.
Thus

M
M x3
I x 2 dm

L
L 3
0
L

ML2
3

This problem can also be using the parallel-axis theorem:

I Icm Mh 2

2.

1
1
ML2 M[L / 2 ]2 ML2
12
3

Moment of Inertia of a Thin Triangular Plate about one side

Let ABC be a thin triangular plate of surface density (mass per unit area), whose moment of inertia is to
be determine about the side BC.
If the altitude of the plate be AP = H,
Its area =

1
aH
2

And its mass M

[here BC = a]

1
aH
2

Now, let us consider that the triangular plate is made up by a number of

thin strips, parallel to BC. Let us consider one such strip is DE of width dx
at a distance x from BC.
The area of the strip = DE. dx
The mass of the strip dm = DE. dx.
Now , in the similar triangles AQD and APB , we have

DQ
AQ

BP
AP
H x
DQ
.BP
H
similarly. From similar triangles AQE and APC we have

QE
AQ

PC
AP
Hx
QE
.PC
H
Now, DE = DQ+QE =

Hx
Hx
(BP PC )
.a
H
H

Mass of the strip dm =

Hx
. a.dx.
H

2
Moment of inertia of DE about the side BC = x2 dm = x

Hx
.a.dx.
H

Moment of inertia of the whole plate about BC,

H

Hx
a
a dx
I = x dm x
H
H
0
0
2

a
a
Hx 2 dx

H 0
H

H x x

dx

dx

aH 3
1
H2
.a.H . .
12
2
6

MH 2
6

3.

Moment of Inertia of a Circular Disc

i.

about an axis through its center and perpendicular to its plane:

Let M be the mass of the disc and R be the radius. The axis of rotation is YY ` .
The area of the disc = R 2
Mass per unit area of the disc =

M
.
R 2

Let us consider a ring of the disc at a distance x from the axis. The radius of the
ring is x and width is dx.
The area of the ring = 2x dx
The mass of the ring, dm =

2x dx.

M
2M
x dx
=
2
R2
R

Moment of Inertia of the ring about the axis through O = x2 dm

Moment of Inertia of the whole disc about the axis
R

I=

x dm x
0

2M
2M
x dx 2
2
R
R

2M x 4
x
dx

R2 4
0

MR 2
2

(ii)

about its diameter:

Let AB and CD be two perpendicular diameters of a circular disc of radius R and

mass M. Since the moment of inertia about AB is equal to the moment of inertia
about CD. Let it be I.
Now according to perpendicular axis theorem,
Moment of inertia of the disc about AB + M.I. of the disc about CD = Moment of inertia of the disc about
an axis through O and perpendicular to its plane.
I+I=

MR 2
2

MR 2
2

2I =

MR 2
4

I=

(iii)

about a tangent to the disc in its own plane:

Let AB be the tangent to the circular disc of radius R and mass M, about which its moment of inertia is to
be determined. Let CD be a diameter of the disc, parallel to tangent AB. The
moment of inertia of the disc about this diameter is equal to

MR 2
.
4

So according to parallel axes theorem,

Moment of inertia of the disc about AB = M.I. of the disc about CD + MR 2

MR 2
4

MR 2

5MR 2
2

(iii) about a tangent to the disc and perpendicular to its plane:

This tangent will obviously be parallel to the axis through the center of disc and perpendicular to its plane,
the distance between the two axes being equal to the radius of the disc.
Hence, by the principle of parallel axes, we have
M.I about the tangent = M.I about the perpendicular axis + MR 2

MR 2
3MR 2
MR 2
2
2

4. Moment of Inertia of a solid sphere:

(i) about its diameter:
Figure represent a section of the sphere through its center O of mass M and radius R.
The volume of the sphere =

4
R 3
3

M
Mass per unit volume = 4

R 3

3M
4R 3

Let us now consider a thin circular slice of the sphere at a distance x from the center and thickness dx.
The radius of the circular disc =

R2 x2

The surface area of the disc = R 2 x 2

The volume of the disc = R 2 x 2 dx

Mass of the disc = volume of the disc

2
2
= R x dx .

mass per unit volume

3M
4R 3

3M
R 2 x 2 dx
3
4R

Now moment of inertia of this disc about the diameter

dI = mass of the disc
3M

4R 3

radius of

R 2 x 2

x 2 dx

the disc
2

3M

8R 3

x2

dx

Moment of Inertia of the whole sphere about the diameter,

3M
2
2 2
R

x
dx
3
0 8R

I 2
= 2.

3M
8R 3

4
2 2
4
R dx 2R x dx x dx

x3
3M
R
R 4 x 0 2R 2
3
4R
3

3M 5 2R 5 R 5

3
5
4R 3

2
MR 2
5

x5
5

The moment of inertia of the sphere about one diameter is the same as any another diameter.
(ii) about a tangent:
A tangent drawn to the sphere at any point, will obviously be parallel to one of its diameters and the
distance between the axes is equal to R, the radius of the sphere.
According to the parallel axes theorem we have,
M.I of the sphere about a tangent = M.I of the sphere about a diameter + MR 2

2
7
MR 2 MR 2 MR 2
5
5
(i)

5. Moment of Inertia of a solid cylinder

about an axis passing through its center and perpendicular to its own axis of cylindrical
symmetry:

Let us consider a solid cylinder of mass M, radius R and length L. Let YY 1 be the axis passing through
its center O and perpendicular to its own axis XX 1 about which moment of inertia is to be determined.
Let us consider the cylinder made up of a number of thin disc and one such disc is at a distance x
from o and of thickness dx.
Mass of the cylinder = M
Volume of the cylinder = R 2 L
Mass per unit volume of the cylinder =

M
R 2 L

Volume of the disc = R 2 dx

2
Mass of the disc M R dx .

M
M

dx
2
L
R L

The moment of inertia of this disc about Y Y is dI.

According to Parallel axes theorem,

1
M R 2 M x 2
4
1M
M

dxR 2 .
dx .x 2
4 L
L

dI

1 MR 2
M 2
dx
x dx
4 L
L

The moment of inertia of the whole cylinder,

R/2

I 2 [
0

1 MR 2
M 2
dx
x dx]
4 L
L
R

1 M 2
M
2
R x 02 2
4 L
L

(ii)

MR
4

x3

R
2

R
ML
L2

12
12
4
2

about its axis passing through its length

Table 3: Moments of inertia for various common bodies. The 'M' in each case is the total mass of
the object.

slender rod:

axis
through
center

axis
through
end

rectangular
plane:

axis
through
center

axis
along
edge

sphere

thinwalled
hollow

solid

cylinder

hollow

solid

thinwalled
hollow

axis
through
tangent

3MR 2
2

Solved Examples:
Example 1: A uniform disk of radius R = 20 cm and mass M = 2.5 kg is mounted on a fixed horizontal
axle. A block whose mass m is 1.2 kg hangs from a mass-less cord that is wrapped around the rim of the
disk. Find [a] the acceleration of the falling block [assuming that it does fall], [b] the tension in the cord, [c]
the angular acceleration of the disk and [d] the tangential acceleration of a point on the rim of the wheel
[disk]. The cord does not slip and there is no friction at the axle.
Solution:
[a] Let us assume that the block accelerates downward, so the magnitude mg of its weight must exceed
the tension T in the cord.
Therefore, from Newtons second law, we get
mg T ma , . [1]
where a is the acceleration of the falling block.
The torque acting on the disk is TR. The rotational inertia I of the disk is

1
MR 2 . [Two other forces also
2

act on the disk, its weight Mg and the normal force N exerted on the disk by its support. Since both these
forces act at the axis of the disk, they exert no torque on the disk.]
Applying Newtons second law in angular form [ I ] to the disk, we get

TR

1
MR 2 , [2]
2

Combining [1] & [2] leads to

[2 ][1.2 kg]
2m
[ 9 .8 m / s 2 ]
4 .8 m / s 2
M 2m
2.5 kg [2 ][1.2 kg ]
[b] Using the relation a R , we can write from [2]
ag

The tension T in the cord is then

2T Ma

10

1
1
Ma [2.5 kg][ 4.8 m / s 2 ] 6.0 N
2
2

[c] The angular acceleration of the disk is

a 4.8 m / s 2

24 rad / s 2
R
0.20 M
[d] The tangential acceleration of a point on the rim is
a R [ 24 rad / s 2 ][0.20 m] 4.8 m / s 2
Example 2: Assuming that the disk of Example 1 starts from rest, compute the work done by the applied
torque on the disk in 2.0 s. Compute also the increase in rotational kinetic energy of the disk.
Solution:
Since the applied torque is constant, the resulting angular acceleration is constant. The total angular
displacement in constant angular acceleration is

0 t

1 2
1
t 0[ t ] [24 rad / s 2 ][2.0 s ]2 48 rad
2
2

For constant torque, the work done in a finite angular displacement is

W [ 2 1 ]

in which

TR [ 6.0 N][0.20 m ] 1.2 N. m,

2 1 48 rad

and
Therefore,

W [1.2 N. m][ 48 rad ] 57.6 J

This work must result in an increase in rotational kinetic energy of the disk. Starting from rest the disk
acquires an angular speed . The rotational energy is

To obtain

1 2 1 1
I [ MR 2 ] 2
2
2 2

we use

0 t 0 [ 24 rad / s 2 ][2.0 s ] 48 rad / s

Then

1 2
I [ 0.5 ][2.5 kg][0.20 m]2 [ 48.0rad / s ]2 115 .2 J
2
Hence the increase in kinetic energy of the disk is equal to the work done by the resultant force on the
disk.
Example 3: Consider a solid cylinder of mass M and radius R rolling down an inclined plane without
slipping. Find the speed of its centre of mass when the cylinder reaches the bottom.
Solution:
The cylinder is initially at rest. In rolling down the incline the cylinder loses potential energy of an amount
Mgh, where h is the height of the incline. It gains kinetic energy equal to

1
1
Icm 2 Mv 2
2
2
where v is the linear speed of the centre of mass and
the bottom.
We have then the relation

1
1
Icm 2 Mv 2
2
2
1
v
MR 2 and .
2
R
Mgh

in which

I cm

is the angular speed about the centre of mass at

Hence

11

Mgh

1 1
v
1
1 1
[ MR 2 ][ ]2 Mv 2 [ ]Mv 2 ,
2 2
R
2
4 2
4
v 2 gh ,
3
4
or v
gh
3

The speed of the center of mass would have been v

incline.

2gh if the cylinder had slid down a frictionless

Example 4: A sphere and a cylinder, having the same mass and radius, start from rest and roll down the
same incline. Which body gets to the bottom first?
Solution:
For a sphere I cm equals

2
MR 2 . Using the dynamical method, we get for the sphere
5

Mg sin f Ma,

translation

2
fR Icm [ MR 2 ][ a / R ],
5
where

of

cm , . [a]

rotation about cm , [b]

f is the force of static friction acting along the incline at the point of contact.

From [b] we can write

f
Putting this value of

f in [a], we get
a

Similarly, we can prove for the cylinder, a

2
Ma
5

5
g sin
7

2
g sin .
3

Hence the acceleration of the centre of mass of the sphere is at all times greater than the acceleration of
the centre of mass of the cylinder. Since, both bodies start from rest at the same instant, the sphere will
reach the bottom first.

12

Problems (Rotational kinematics)

1.

A flywheel, of mass 500kg and 2 meters diameter, makes 500 revolutions per minute. Assuming the
mass to be concentrated at the rim, calculate the angular velocity, the energy and the moment of
inertia of the flywheel.

2.

A grinder is in the form of a circular disk of mass 10 kg and diameter 0.4 m. Calculate the constant
torque that has to be applied so that the disk acquires an angular velocity of 4 revolutions / second in
5 seconds. Calculate also the rate at which work is done by the torque at the end of 5 seconds.

3.

A circular disc of radius 0.06 m can rotate freely about a horizontal axis passing through its centre. A
thread of negligible mass is wound over its circumference and a mass of 0.3 kg is tied to the free end
of the thread and allowed to fall freely. In the first 5 seconds, the mass fall through 1.0 m. calculate
the angular acceleration and moment of inertia of the disc.

4. A flywheel, which can revolve on a horizontal axis weighs 900 kg and its radius is r m. A rope is coiled
round its rim and a mass of 90 kg, hung from its free end, turns the wheel by its descent. Find the
speed at which the mass is moving after descending 20 m from rest.
5. A flywheel is accelerated by a steady torque so that it makes 3 revolutions in the first three seconds of
its motion. The mass of the flywheel is 10Kg and the radius of gyration is 0.50m. What is the value of
torque?
6.

A solid uniform marble and a block of ice each with the same mass start from rest at the same height,
H above the bottom of a hill and move down it. The marble rolls without slipping but the ice slides
without friction. [a] Find the speed of each of these objects at the bottom of the hill. [b] Which object
is moving faster at the bottom? [c]Which object has more KE at the bottom of the hill?

7. A body of radius R and mass m is rolling horizontally without slipping with speed v. It then rolls up a
hill to a maximum height h. If h= 3v2/4g, [a] what is the bodys rotational inertia? [b] What might the
shape of the body be?
8.

A solid sphere rolls down an inclined plane with an acceleration of 4.62 m/sec 2. Calculate the
inclination of the plane. Also calculate the acceleration of a hollow sphere rolling down the same
inclined plane.

9.

A solid cylinder of mass 1 Kg and radius 7 cm starts from rest and rolls without slipping down an
inclined plane of length 11 m and height 3 m. The angle of inclination of the plane is 60 o; find the
speed of its center of mass when the cylinder reaches the bottom.

10. A sphere, a disc and a ring of the same radius are allowed to roll down on inclined plane
simultaneously from the same height without slipping. Give the order in which they reach the bottom
of the plane.
11.

A cylinder of length L and radius R has a weight W. Two cords are wrapped around the cylinder, one
near each end, and the chord ends are attached to hooks on the ceiling. The cylinder is held
horizontally with the two cords exactly vertical and is then released. Find [a] the linear acceleration of
the cylinder as it falls and [b] the tension in each cord as they unwind.

13