Rotational

Equilibrium and
Rotational Dynamics
ROTATIONAL
KINEMATICS
Lesson 1
 Rotational motion is all around us from molecules to galaxies.
The earth rotates about its axis. Wheels, gears, propellers, motors, the
drive shaft in a car, a CD in its player, a pirouetting ice skater, all rotate.
Our study of rotation is between linear motion and rotational motion.
In this lesson, we consider rotation about an axis that is fixed in space,
or one that is moving parallel to itself as in a rolling ball.
 Have you ever watched a Ferris wheel as it turns? How do you
feel? Did you ever wonder how it moves? Will you still ride it if it
doesn’t turn? This is why rotational motion is a very important motion.
It is important to know how this motion affects the movement of a
certain body.
As you go along this lesson, you will be able to:
• Define kinematic rotational variables such as angular position, angular
velocity, and angular acceleration
• Derive rotational kinematic equations, and
• Solve for the angular position, angular velocity, and angular
acceleration of a rotating body.
Activity 1.1 Am I Important?
Rotational Kinematics
Kinematics is the description of motion. It is concerned with the
description of motion without regard to force or mass. But what exactly
is rotational kinematics? From the word, you can describe that it’s all
about any object that can rotate or spin. It’s different from linear
motion when object simply moves forward. The kinematics of
rotational motion describes the relationships among rotation angle (θ),
angular velocity (ω), angular acceleration ( α) , and time (t). You will
find that translational kinematic quantities, such as displacement,
velocity, and acceleration have direct analogs in rotational motion.
Axis of Rotation
In activity 1.1, you have listed some types of rotating objects and
their importance to society right? Everything that you have listed are all
rotating about a line somewhere within the object called the axis of
rotation. We are also going to assume that all these objects are rigid
bodies, that is, they keep their shape and are not deformed in any way
by their motion. Look at Figure 1 below. It shows the wheel and axle of
a bike. Is the axle (axis of rotation) part of the wheel (rigid body)? The
answer is NO. If you were to spin the wheel around its center, the axis
of rotation (axle) would be pointing perpendicular to the motion of the
wheel.
Angular Displacement
The symbol generally used for angular displacement is θ
pronounced "teta" or "theta." θ is the angle swept by the radius of a
circle that points to a rotating object. Look at the circle below and
assume its rotating about its middle so the axis of rotation is pointing
out of the page. Start with a piece of the circle at point A. as the circle
rotates counterclockwise, the piece of the circle reaches point B. The
point traveled a distance of s along the circumference, and swept out
an angle θ. We can also say that the angle θ “substends’ an arc length
of s. Note that the points A and B are always at the same distance, r,
from the axis of rotation.
 We will now define the angle of rotation (θ) as the ratio of the
arc length (s) to the radius (r) of the circle. We call this angle of rotation
(θ) the angular displacement. We denote angular displacement as Θ
(theta). In symbol,
 Angular displacement is unitless since it is the ratio of two
distances but, we will say that the angular displacement is measured in
radians. We know degrees, and we know that when a point on a circle
rotates and comes back to the same point, it has performed one
revolution; let us say from point A, and rotate until we come back to
point A.
Angular Velocity
Angular Acceleration
If the angular velocity of the rotating object increases or
decreases with time, we say that the object experiences an angular
acceleration, α. The angular acceleration of a rotating object is the rate
at which the angular velocity changes with respect to time. It is the
change in the angular velocity, divided by the change in time. The
average angular acceleration is the change in the angular velocity,
divided by the change in time. The angular acceleration is a vector that
points in a direction along the rotation axis. The magnitude of the
angular acceleration is given by the formula below. The unit of angular
acceleration is radians/s2 .
 It is not only the point (we measure) move in that angular
velocity. All points in the object rotate with the same angular velocity.
Every position in the object move through the same time interval.
Conventionally, object moving counterclockwise has a value of positive
(+) angular acceleration, while the one moving the clockwise direction
has negative (-) value.
 The above Kinematics equations allowed you to explore the
relationship between displacement, velocity, and acceleration. You can
develop a corresponding set of relationships for angular displacement,
angular velocity, and angular acceleration. The equations follow the
same form as the translational equations, all you have to do is replace
the translational variables with rotational variables.
Activity 1.3 Think Critically
Solve the following in a clean sheet of paper. Show your solution
and box your final answer.
1) Mark bought a pizza of a radius of 0.5 m. A fly lands on the pizza
and walks around the edge for a distance of 80 cm. Calculate the
angular displacement of the fly?
2) What is the angular velocity of an object traveling in a circle of
radius 0.75 m with a linear speed of 3.5 m/s?
3) What is the angular acceleration of a ball that starts at rest and
increases its angular velocity uniformly to 5 rad/s in 10 s?
ROTATIONAL DYNAMICS
Lesson 2
 In the previous lesson, you learned about the analogy of
translational and rotational motion. With this you were able to derived
the basic variables necessary in understanding this type of motion.
Also, you learned the kinematics of rotating body without taking into
account the factors that causes its motion.
 In this lesson you will understand rotational motion further
through its dynamics; that is how Torque, the force applied, causes a
body to rotate. Also, in this lesson, you will learn the conditions of
Static Equilibrium; the Work done by the torque and the Angular
Momentum and their analogy to Newton’s Laws of Motion. This lesson
will help you explore and understand how simple events encountered
and observed daily works. Specifically, you are expected to learn the
following:
1. Determine whether a system is in static equilibrium or not
2. Determine the conditions of a system under equilibrium and solve
static equilibrium problems
3. Define torque and learn how force should be applied in a body to
attain maximum torque
4. Determine angular momentum of different systems
5. Apply the torque-angular momentum relation in solving problems
Investigating Torque!
Torque is a physical quantity closely related to rotation. It is the
Force’s ability to cause an object to rotate.
Perform the following tasks to have a preliminary observation on
the relationship between torque to the distance of application and
angle of rotation. To do this, apply an estimated constant force to the
labelled points to rotate the object and rank the ease of rotation from
easiest to hardest.
A. TORQUE (𝝉)
Have you ever wondered why doorknobs are situated at the
opposite end of the hinges and not near it? And why is it easier to use
long-handled wrenches than the short-handled one in removing bolts?
How about doing an arm-wrestling with a longer-arm person? What do
you think would be your chances of winning?
This lesson will enlighten you on the simple physics behind these
things. With the understanding of Torque, you will be able to answer
these questions.