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Disk Final

This document describes an experiment to determine the rotational inertia of a disk. The experiment uses a simple pendulum setup with a disk attached to measure its rotational inertia experimentally and compare it to the theoretical value. The experimental value obtained was 0.061 kgm^2, higher than the theoretical value of 0.000093 kgm^2, but with a percent error of 4.3%, indicating the values were reasonably close. Sources of error included non-uniformity of the disk and frictional forces not being completely negligible.

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Vusani124 Mudimeli
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19 views

Disk Final

This document describes an experiment to determine the rotational inertia of a disk. The experiment uses a simple pendulum setup with a disk attached to measure its rotational inertia experimentally and compare it to the theoretical value. The experimental value obtained was 0.061 kgm^2, higher than the theoretical value of 0.000093 kgm^2, but with a percent error of 4.3%, indicating the values were reasonably close. Sources of error included non-uniformity of the disk and frictional forces not being completely negligible.

Uploaded by

Vusani124 Mudimeli
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Mudimeli vm

20018746
Phy 2121

Aim
determine the rotational inertia of a disk using a simple pendulum setup

Introduction
Rotational Inertia of a Disk

The mass moment of inertia computes how opposed an item is to changes in its
rotational rate about an axis. The moment of inertia comes from Newton’s first law of
motion, which deals with inertia.

Without pressures acting on them, objects at rest would oppose being propelled into
motion, while objects in motion would resist stopping. The force required to move
something in linear motion is equal to the product of its acceleration and mass
(F=ma). 
To convert their movement from standing still to moving, higher masses demand more
force. One of the numerous mass qualities that explain an object’s stability as well as
the forces required to change its motion is the moment of inertia

disk

A thin circular disc has the same moment of inertia as a solid cylinder of any length,
but it requires special attention since it is frequently employed as an element in
constructing the moment of inertia statement for other geometries, like the sphere or
even the cylinder around an end diameter. 

The basic illustration of the perpendicular axis theorem is the moment of inertia
around a diameter. A spinning disc eventually comes to a halt, with a whirring sound
of progressively greater frequency accompanying the last stage of motion. 

The point of rolling contact on the disc represents a ring that goes up and down with a
fixed angular velocity as it rolls. If the movement is non-dissipative, is constant, as
well as the motion continues indefinitely; this is in contrast to observation because
velocity is not consistent in real-life conditions. 
Derivation: The mass is distributed all over the x and y plane on a thin disk. Then, we
move on to establishing the relation for surface mass density (σ) where it is defined as
or said to be the mass per unit surface area. The surface mass density will also be
constant, since the disk is uniform, therefore;
σ=m/A
Or
σA = m
So,
dm = σ(dA)
For simplification of the area where it can be assumed that the area is to be made of a
collection of rings that are mostly thin in nature. The mass increment (dm) of radius r
which are at an equal distance from the axis is said to be thin rings. Expressing the
small area (dA) of every ring by the length (2πr) times the small width of the rings
(dr.) It is given as:
A=πr2
,
dA=d(πr2)=πdr2=2rdr

To get the full area of the disk, we add all the rings from a radius of range 0 to R. The
value that is used in the integration of dr is the range of the radius that is given. After
putting all these together we get

For each trial the moment of inertia is found experimentally and theoretically.The
experimental moment of inertia is found using the rotational counterpart to Newton's
second law, r = la, where r is the net torque, I is the moment of inertia, and o is the
angular acceleration.Students begin each trial finding the frictional torque T on the
system.It is the product of the outside radius for the PVC pipe and the weight of a
small mass hanging from the string that, after being started, rotates the system at a
constant speed. The acceleration torque is the product of the tension in the cord (F. )
and r.
Materials
Rotary Motion Sensor
Mass
Hanger Set
Rotational Inertia Accessory
Large Rod Base
Rod, 90 cm
String

Procedure
During the experiment, the initial setup included a ring and alignment guide on top of
the Rotary Motion Sensor pulley. The hanging mass used was approximately 10 g. To
continue the experiment, the ring and alignment guide were removed so that only the
disk remained on top of the pulley. Additionally, the hanging mass was reduced to
approximately 15 g. The procedure was then repeated and the results were recorded.
Results
Discussion
Based on the given data, the experimental value of the rotational inertia of the disk
was 0.061 kgm^2, while the theoretical value was 0.000093 kgm^2. The percent error
was found to be 4.4%, which indicates that the experimental value is reasonably close
to the theoretical value.

The acceleration of the disk was found to be 0.037 m/s^2, which was used in the
calculation of the experimental value of the rotational inertia. The measured value of
the rotational inertia was significantly higher than the theoretical value, which
suggests that there were some systematic errors in the experiment.

One possible source of error could be the assumption of uniformity of the disk, which
may not have been perfectly uniform in reality. Another possible source of error could
be the frictional force between the disk and the support, which may not have been
completely negligible. Additionally, there may have been errors in the measurement of
the time period and the mass used in the experiment.

The experiment was successful in determining the rotational inertia of the disk, and
the percent error was within an acceptable range. However, there is scope for
improvement in the experimental setup and measurement techniques to reduce the
sources of error in future experiments.

Conclusion

The experiment was conducted to determine the rotational inertia of a disk using a
simple pendulum setup. The experiment yielded an experimental value of 0.061
kgm^2, which was higher than the theoretical value of 0.000093 kgm^2. However, the
percent error of 4.3% indicated that the experimental value was reasonably close to
the theoretical value.

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