ROTATIONAL MOTION

10
EXERCISES
Section 10.1 Angular Velocity and Acceleration
14. The angular speed is
(a) (b)
(c) (d)
(Note: Radians are a dimensionless angular measure, i.e., pure numbers; therefore angular speed can be expressed
in units of inverse seconds.)
15. INTERPRET We are asked to compute the linear speed at some location on Earth. The problem involves the
rotational motion of the Earth.
DEVELOP We first calculate the angular speed of the Earth using Equation 10.1:

The linear speed can then be computed using Equation 10.3:

EVALUATE (a) On the equator,

(b) At latitude so
ASSESS The angle corresponds to the Equator. So the result found in (b) agrees with (a). In addition, if we
take then we are at the poles, and the linear speed is zero there.
16. (a) (b)
(c) (d)
(See note in solution to Exercise 14. The approximate value for 1 y used in part (d) is often handy for estimates,
and is fairly accurate; see Chapter 1, Problem 20.)
17. INTERPRET The problem asks about the linear speed of the straight wood saw, but it’s equivalent to finding the
linear speed of the circular saw.
DEVELOP We first convert the angular speed to rad/s:

The linear speed can then be computed using Equation 10.3:

EVALUATE The radius of the circular saw is Therefore, its linear speed is

ASSESS The linear speed of the saw is more than

18. From Equation 10.4 (before the limit is taken),
(Recall that
19. INTERPRET In this problem we are asked to find the angular speed and number of revolutions of a turbine, given
its angular acceleration. The key to this type of rotational problem is to identify the analogous situation for linear
motion. The analogies are summarized in Table 10.1.

10.1
10.2 Chapter 10

DEVELOP Given a constant angular acceleration , the angular velocity and angular position at a later time t can
be found using Equations 10.7 and 10.8:

EVALUATE (a) The initial and final angular velocities are and

Therefore, the amount of time it takes to reach this angular speed is

(b) Using Equation 10.8, we find the number of turns made during this time interval to be

ASSESS The turbine turns very fast. After 12.1 min, it has reached an angular speed of 377 rad/s, or 60 rev/s!
20. The kinematics of motion with constant angular acceleration are summarized in Table 10.1, where the initial
angular velocity at is zero if the merry-go-round starts at rest. (a) Equation 10.8 gives the angular
displacement:
(b) Equations 10.6 and 10.9 give the average angular speed:
0.668 rpm. (Note that the average angular speed is always equal to in this case but that
Equations 10.6 to 10.9 apply only to constant
Section 10.2 Torque
21. INTERPRET In this problem we are asked to find the torque produced by the frictional force about the wheel’s axis.
DEVELOP The torque produced by a force is given by Equation 10.10:

where is the perpendicular distance between the rotation axis and the line of action of the force F. The
frictional force acts tangent to the circumference of the wheel and hence perpendicular to the radius at
the point of contact.
EVALUATE Using Equation 10.10, we find the torque to be

opposite to the direction of rotation.

ASSESS Since frictional force opposes motion, the torque it produces tends to slow down the rotation.
22. If the force is applied perpendicular to the door, the radial distance should be 1.22 m
from the axis. (See Equation 10.10 with
23. INTERPRET In this problem we want to find the force required to produce a specific torque.
DEVELOP The torque produced by a force is given by Equation 10.10:

where is the perpendicular distance (lever arm) between the rotation axis and the line of action of the
force F. Alternatively, one can think of as the effective force.
EVALUATE Using Equation 10.10, the magnitude of the applied force may be obtained as The forces
are (a)

and
(b)
 Rotational Motion 10.3

ASSESS To produce a specific torque most effectively, the applied force should be at the right angle to the
position vector from the axis of rotation to the point where the force is applied. This would yield an effective force

24. The angle between the minute hand (for the clock in upright position) and the weight of the mouse (vertically
downward) is 120 at ten past the hour, so the magnitude of the torque exerted is
The direction of the torque is clockwise.

25. INTERPRET We find the torque on a wheel, given that it has a slight off-center mass at a given radius and angle
to the horizontal. We use the definition of torque,
DEVELOP We start with a sketch of the system, shown in the figure below. From this, we see that the angle
between the force and the position vector is The valve stem is located a distance from
the center, and has mass
EVALUATE

ASSESS We see from our equation that the torque would be zero if the angle were 90°.
Section 10.3 Rotional Inertia and the Analog of Newton’s Law
26. With distances and axes as shown in the sketch, Equation 10.12 for rotational inertia gives
(a) and (b)

27. INTERPRET We want to find the moment of inertia of a shaft that has a shape of a solid cylinder.
DEVELOP The rotational inertia of a solid cylinder or disk about its axis is (see Table 10.2).
EVALUATE The rotational inertia of the shaft is

ASSESS The numerical value is reasonable, given its mass and radius, and the units are correct.
28. (a)
(b)
10.4 Chapter 10

29. INTERPRET In this problem we are asked to find the minimum mass of a wheel, given its diameter and
rotational inertia.
DEVELOP Any part of the wheel has a distance from the center less than or equal to the maximum radius.
Therefore, using Equation 10.12, we obtain the following inequality:

EVALUATE (a) The above equation implies that

Therefore, the minimum mass is

(b) If not all the mass of the wheel is concentrated at the rim, the total mass is greater than this minimum.
ASSESS To have the same rotational inertia I, we can have some of the mass of wheel concentrated near the axis
of rotation. Their contribution to I would be small since
30. INTERPRET We are asked to find the rotational inertia I of three point masses located at the corners of an
equilateral triangle. We find I for the axis through the center perpendicular to the plane, and for the axis along the
line through one corner and the midpoint of the opposite side, as shown in the figure below. We use the equation
for rotational inertia of a collection of point masses:
DEVELOP In each part of this problem, we will need the distances of the particles from the appropriate axis.
In part (a), we see from the figure below that the distance of each particle from the center of the triangle is
In part (b), we see that the distance of two of the masses from the axis is and the third
is at a distance of 0.
The masses are each and
EVALUATE

(a)

(b)

ASSESS As we would expect, the rotational inertia is less for the second axis.

31. INTERPRET By assuming Earth to be a solid sphere with uniform mass distribution, we want to estimate its
rotational inertia, and the torque needed to change the length of the day by one second every century.
DEVELOP From Table 10.2, the rotational inertia of a solid sphere of radius R and mass M is

Once I is known, the torque needed to slow down the rotation can be found by using Equation 10.11:
EVALUATE (a) For a uniform solid sphere, and an axis through the center,
 Rotational Motion 10.5

(b) The angular speed of rotation of Earth is where the period is If the period were to
change by 1s per century, i.e.,

this would correspond to an angular acceleration of

Therefore, a torque of magnitude

would be required.
ASSESS The torque in (b) is actually generated by tidal friction between the Moon and the Earth. Note that the
Earth has a core of denser material, so its actual rotational inertia is less than that obtained in (a).
32. (a) For a uniform sphere about an axis through its center, Since the density is the radius
can be eliminated to yield
(b) The torque responsible for the spin-down rate (i.e., the angular
deceleration) is the negative value indicating
a direction opposite to the angular velocity.
33. INTERPRET We are asked about the rotational inertia of a Frisbee, given its mass distribution, and the torque
required to generate the rotation.
DEVELOP The rotational inertia (about a perpendicular axis through the center) of the Frisbee is the sum of that
for a disk and a ring

Next, using Equation 10.11, the torque needed to rotate the Frisbee can be calculated.
EVALUATE Since half of the mass is spread uniformly in a disk, and the other half concentrated in the rim, we
have Thus, the rotational inertia is

(b) Using Equation 10.9, the angular acceleration is found to be

Thus, the torque required is

ASSESS The numerical values all look reasonable, and the units are correct: in rad/s2, and torque in
34. The frictional torque decelerates the flywheel, so Equations 10.7 and 10.11 yield and
or where Rs is the radius of the shaft. Since the radius of the flywheel, Rw,
is much larger than Rs, the rotational inertia of the wheel is approximately that of a solid disk, therefore

(Note: The exact I for the flywheel is which is just 0.7% different from for the given radii).
Section 10.4 Rotional Energy
10.6 Chapter 10

35. INTERPRET The problem asks about the rotational kinetic energy of a rotating circular saw. In addition, we also
want to find the power required for the saw to start from rest and reach a given angular speed.
DEVELOP The rotational kinetic energy of the saw can be found by using Equation 10.18:

where for a disk. The required power is simply equal to the rate of the work done on the saw.
EVALUATE (a) With the rotational kinetic energy is

(b) The power required is

ASSESS To check the answer, we present an alternative approach to computing K. In this problem, the angular
acceleration is

and the angular displacement is (Using Equation 10.9)

With these quantities, the rotational energy may be calculated as

which is same as before.

36. If kinetic energy of rotation were extracted at a constant rate (power for a time t, until the period of
rotation increased by 1 minute, then where and Since
we can approximate the difference of angular velocities squared as

and moreover, take IE from Exercise 33(a). Then

or about
37. INTERPRET The kinetic energy of the baseball consists of two parts: the kinetic energy of the center of mass,
and the rotational kinetic energy, We want to find the fraction of total kinetic energy that’s
DEVELOP The total kinetic energy has center-of-mass energy and internal rotational energy associated with spin
about the center of mass (see Equation 10.20):

EVALUATE For a solid sphere, Therefore, the fraction of the total kinetic energy that’s rotational is

ASSESS Rotational kinetic energy constitutes a very small fraction of the total kinetic energy. This is
reasonable because the linear speed at a point on the surface of the baseball due to rotation is only
 Rotational Motion 10.7

38. The rotational kinetic energy of the Earth is where I is Earth’s moment of inertia and is its
rotational speed. For we take the total time to rotate radians as 1 day or 24 hours:

We treat Earth as a uniform solid sphere with mass and radius to compute I:

Then
39. INTERPRET We need to find the energy stored in a massive flywheel. We are given the size and mass of the
flywheel, so we can calculate the rotational inertia. Given the speed, we can calculate the kinetic energy. We also
need to find the power output of a generator if the speed of the flywheel changes a given amount in a certain time.
DEVELOP The energy stored in the flywheel is We will need to convert the angular speed in rpm to
rad/s, and calculate the rotational inertia of the flywheel disk using The power output in the second part
is
The mass of the flywheel is the radius is and the initial rotation rate is 360 rpm. In
the second part, the rotation rate goes to 300 rpm in
EVALUATE
(a)

(b)

ASSESS This is a good way of generating enormous power pulses.

Section 10.5 Rolling Motion
40. INTERPRET We find the translational and rotational kinetic energy of a rolling sphere. We are given the
translational speed and the mass of the sphere.
DEVELOP Translational kinetic energy is Rotational kinetic energy is The rotational
inertia of a sphere is and The mass of the sphere is
EVALUATE

(a)

(b)

ASSESS Note that the rotational kinetic energy is 2/5 the translational kinetic energy, in this case. Does the 2/5
look familiar? How would the two answers be related if instead of a solid sphere it was a hollow sphere?
41. INTERPRET What fraction of a disk’s kinetic energy is rotational if it’s rolling? We use the relationship between
and v.
DEVELOP We use the total kinetic energy with and The rotational fraction
is

EVALUATE

ASSESS This is consistent with what we noted in the previous problem: the rotational inertia is so the
rotational kinetic energy is the translational kinetic energy when it rolls without slipping.
10.8 Chapter 10

42. INTERPRET From the fraction of kinetic energy due to rotation, we determine whether a ball is solid or hollow.
DEVELOP The fraction of energy that is rotational is We will find this fraction for the hollow
sphere, and for the solid sphere, and see which gives an answer closer to
EVALUATE For the solid sphere,

For the hollow sphere,

ASSESS The sphere is hollow.

PROBLEMS
43. INTERPRET The problem is about the rotational motion of the wheel. The key to this type of rotational problem is
to identify the analogous situation for linear motion. The analogies are summarized in Table 10.1.
DEVELOP For constant angular acceleration, the final angular speed is given by Equation 10.9:

Similarly, to find the time it takes for the wheel to make 2 turns, we solve Equation 10.8:

EVALUATE (a) The angular acceleration is Using Equation 10.7, we find the final
angular speed to be

(b) Equation 10.8 gives or

ASSESS Another way to answer (b) is to use Equation 10.8:

44. At constant angular acceleration, Equations 10.1 and 10.6 give

63.0 rev.
45. INTERPRET The problem is about the angular velocity (rotation rate) of the CD, with the linear speed specified at
some point on the CD.
DEVELOP Equation 10.3 gives the relation between linear speed and angular speed,

where r is the distance from the center of rotation. With being a constant, the angular speed can be
found once r is specified.
EVALUATE (a) With we have

for a point on the CD’s outer edge.

(b) With we have
 Rotational Motion 10.9

ASSESS Note that radians are a dimensionless angular measure, i.e., pure numbers; therefore angular speed can be
expressed in units of inverse seconds.

46. (a) if the angular acceleration is assumed to

be constant (see Equation 10.4). (b) (see Equation 10.5).
(c) rev (see Equation 10.6).
47. INTERPRET We are asked to find the angular deceleration of the machinery, given its initial and final angular
speeds and the angular displacement.
DEVELOP The three quantities, the initial and final angular speeds and the angular displacement, are related by
Equation 10.9:

This is the equation we shall use to solve for a.

EVALUATE Using Equation 10.9, we find the angular deceleration to be

ASSESS A negative acceleration is a positive deceleration. The amount of time it takes for this deceleration is

During this time interval, the angular displacement is

This is indeed the value given in the problem statement.

48. (b) From Equation 10.6, or since when the blade is stopped.
Thus, (a) From Equation 10.7,
is negative for a deceleration; rpm/s is an appropriate practical unit.)
49. INTERPRET This problem is about the angular motion of the pulley. We want to find the applied torque that
keeps the pulley from rotating.
DEVELOP If the pulley and string are not moving (no rotation and no slipping) the net torque on the pulley is zero,
and the tensions in the string on either side are equal to the weights tied on either end. The tensions are perpendicular
to the radii to each point of application. Therefore, the torques due to the tensions have a magnitude

but are in opposite directions. Thus, the condition for no rotation is

where we chose positive torques in the direction of the applied torque, which is opposite to the torque produced by the
greater mass.
EVALUATE Using the values given in the problem statement, we find

ASSESS The torque equals the torque which would be produced by balancing the pulley with added to
the side with lesser mass.
10.10 Chapter 10

50. (a) The rotational inertia of each of the rods perpendicular to the axis is and that of each rod parallel to the
axis is The total is (b) The rotational inertia of a uniform thin rod,
about an axis through one end, making an angle with the length of the rod, is

Since there are four rods, all making the same angle, with the axis, the total
(c) The rotational inertia of one rod (from the parallel axis theorem) is
and there are four rods, so

51. INTERPRET We are asked to find the rotational inertia of a thick ring with inner and outer radii R1 and R2. The
mass distribution is continuous, so we need to do an integral.
DEVELOP For a thick ring, the ring-shaped mass elements used in Example 10.7 have mass

where is the mass density (units: kg/m2). Note that the ring only extends in radius from The
rotational inertia can then be obtained by integrating over

EVALUATE Upon carrying out the integration, the rotational inertia about an axis perpendicular to the ring and
through its center is

ASSESS To see that the result makes sense, let’s consider the following limits: (i) In this case, we have a
disk with radius and (ii) In this limit, we have a thin ring with
52. Table 10.2 lists the rotational inertia of a flat plate about a central axis (in the plane of the plate and through its
center of mass) as when the axis is parallel to a side of length b. The CM is a perpendicular distance
from this side, so the parallel-axis theorem gives
53. INTERPRET We are asked about the rotational inertia of a propeller, treating it as a uniform thin rod. In addition,
we want to find the time it takes to change its angular speed, given the torque.
DEVELOP The rotational inertia of a thin rod of length L is (from Table 10.2)
 Rotational Motion 10.11

where the axis of the rotation passes through one of the endpoints of the rod. For part (b), we note that the average
torque is related to the average rate of change of angular speed (angular acceleration) as

EVALUATE (a) The rotational inertia of one blade is (see Table 10.2). The propeller has three such blades,
so

(b) The engine torque is the only one considered. Therefore, with and
we have

ASSESS Our result shows that is inversely proportional to the applied torque. Increasing the torque reduces the
time required to speed up the propeller.
54. Divide the plate into thin strips parallel to the central, or x axis. For a uniform plate so

Alternatively, divide into thin strips perpendicular to the axis. The rotational inertia of each strip is
where Therefore,

55. INTERPRET We are asked to find the time it takes for the space station to start from rest and reach a certain
angular speed, with a given thrust.
DEVELOP Suppose that any difference in the distance to the axis from the center to the rockets, or any part of the
ring, is negligible compared to the radius of the ring, The angular acceleration (about the axis perpendicular
to the ring and through its center) of the ring is

Starting from rest it would take time for the ring to reach a final angular speed The angular
displacement during this time interval may be obtained by using Equation 10.8:

EVALUATE Since specifies the desired rate of rotation, we find

10.12 Chapter 10

(b) From either Equation 10.8, we find the number of revolutions to be

ASSESS Since a larger thrust will enable the space station to reach the desirable spin rate more rapidly.
On the other hand, larger mass M and larger R will give a greater rotational inertia, and hence more time would be
required to attain the desired spin rate.
56. Choose positive torques in the direction the drum turns, and positive forces on the weight upward. In the absence
of friction, the net torque on the drum is the (vector) sum of the torque applied by the motor and the torque due
to the tension in the rope, since the rope is perpendicular to the radius of the drum (see
Example 10.9 and Figure 10.19). The net force on the weight is and if the rope does not slip,
the upward acceleration of the weight equals the tangential acceleration of the drum, Therefore,

57. INTERPRET We are asked to find the coefficient of friction between block and slope, given the acceleration of
the block. The rotational motion of the solid drum that is connected to the block by a string must be considered.
DEVELOP The equations of motion for the block and drum are

where and (non-slip string). These equations allow us to determine

EVALUATE The drum’s equation gives the tension,

so that can be found from the block’s equations,

ASSESS To see that our expression for makes sense, let’s check some limits: (i) If then This
is precisely the equation we obtained in Chapter 5 (see Example 5.10). (ii) and The situation
corresponds to a block of mass m sliding down a frictionless slope with acceleration
 Rotational Motion 10.13

58. Since the wheel was spinning freely, the frictional torque of the wrench is the only one acting about its axis of
rotation, and where is the rotational inertia of the wheel (whose mass is concentrated at its rim).
The frictional force is, of course, tangential, so where n is the normal force, and we chose
the positive sense of rotation in the direction of the wheel’s motion. Thus, and
Equation 10.7 gives the final angular speed,

59. INTERPRET In this problem we want to find the angular speed of the potter’s wheel after some force has been
exerted. The force produces a torque that causes the wheel to rotate.
DEVELOP The work-energy theorem for constant torque (Equation 10.19) gives

since the wheel starts from rest. The equation allows us to determine the angular velocity
EVALUATE Since the force acting on the wheel is circumferential, the resulting torque is In addition, the
rotational inertia of a disk is and Thus, we have

or

ASSESS The greater the force exerted on the wheel, the larger the angular speed. On the other hand, larger M and
R result in a larger rotational inertia, and smaller  if the same force is applied.

60. The only significant energy changes in this problem are the change in the anchor’s gravitational potential energy,
and the changes in the drum’s and anchor’s kinetic energies,
respectively. (This is because we are neglecting the mass of the roller and cable, and friction.)
If the cable doesn’t slip over the drum, the drum’s tangential speed equals the anchor’s speed, so For a
hollow cylinder, so the total kinetic energy change is which
equals the change in potential energy. Therefore

61. INTERPRET The problem is about the rotational motion of a hollow basketball rolling down an incline. We want
to know its speed after it has traveled a certain distance.
DEVELOP The ball rolls through a vertical height where is the distance along the incline, which
makes an angle with the horizontal. For a hollow ball, the rotational inertia is (see Table 10.2).
Next, conservation of mechanical energy, applied to the hollow basketball starting from rest and rolling without
slipping down an incline, yields

where The equation allows us to determine

EVALUATE Upon substituting we obtain

or

ASSESS In general, for an object having a rotational inertia of one can go through a similar
derivation and show that the center-of-mass velocity is given by
10.14 Chapter 10

If we ignore the rolling motion of the basketball, the velocity then becomes which is what we expect
from considering only the linear motion.

62. If the ball rolls without slipping and we define potential energy to be zero at the incline’s base, then the purely
kinetic initial energy is The final energy is all potential at the highest point on the incline with
a value of Mgh. Setting the two equal gives: With and this
becomes

With
63. INTERPRET The kinetic energy of the wheel consists of two parts: the kinetic energy of the center of mass,
and the rotational kinetic energy, We want to find out how changing the moment of inertia and mass of the
wheel affects the total kinetic energy.
DEVELOP The total kinetic energy of the wheel has center-of-mass energy and internal rotational energy
associated with spin about the center of mass (see Equation 10.20):

With the condition for rolling without slipping, the total kinetic energy can be rewritten as

The initial condition is After the redesign,

EVALUATE The fractional decrease in kinetic energy is

ASSESS Initially, accounts for of the total kinetic energy, while account for the remaining
After the redesign, the translational kinetic energy decreases by 20%, while the
rotational kinetic energy goes down by 10% Therefore, the total kinetic energy is now

of the original. This is a 17.1% decrease.

64. Take gravitational potential energy to be zero at the bottom. The ball starts on the left side with purely potential
energy of magnitude Mgh. At the bottom, the ball’s energy is purely kinetic with magnitude
Going up the right side, the ball’s translational kinetic energy will be converted to potential energy, but because the
right side is frictionless, the rotational kinetic energy will be unchanged.
Energy conservation between the top and bottom gives:

So at the bottom, and the translational kinetic energy is This translational kinetic
energy is converted entirely to potential energy at the height Therefore we have or
At the height of on the right side, the ball still has the same rotational kinetic energy of
that it had at the bottom.
 Rotational Motion 10.15

65. INTERPRET In this problem we want to find the new rotational inertia of a circular disk after a hole has been
drilled off its center.
DEVELOP Equation 10.17 shows that the rotational inertia of an object is the sum of the rotational inertias of the
pieces, so

The hint expresses this fact as Here is the rotational inertia of the whole disk about an
axis perpendicular to the disk and through its center, which is (see Example 10.7). On the other hand, is
the rotational inertia of the material removed to form the hole, which the parallel axis theorem gives as

Here, is the distance of the hole’s CM from the axis of the disk, and is the rotational
inertia of the hole material about a parallel axis through its CM. With these equations, we can readily determine

EVALUATE Since the planar mass density of the disk (assumed to be uniform) is the mass of the hole
material is

Therefore, the rotational inertia of the hole is

and

ASSESS If the hole drilled were concentric with the disk, we would have

and

The same result is obtained if we use the formula derived in Problem 51, with
and

66. The situation is similar to Example 10.9. (a) The equation of motion (Newton’s second law) of the falling mass is
(positive “a” downward), so (b) The equation of
motion of the rotating drum (rotational analog of Newton’s second law) is
so (since and as explained in Example 10.9).
67. INTERPRET In this problem we want to find out how high up the hill the motorist can go with the total
mechanical energy the system has while traveling on the flat road.
DEVELOP If possible losses are neglected, the mechanical energy of the motorcycle and rider is conserved as it
coasts uphill, so the total kinetic energy at the bottom equals the gain in potential energy at the highest point,
10.16 Chapter 10

The translation kinetic energy of the cycle and rider (including the wheels) and the rotational kinetic energy of the
wheels (about their CM) are, assuming rolling without slipping,

These expressions can be combined to solve for h.

EVALUATE Substituting the second equation into the first, and using we find the
maximum vertical height reached to be

ASSESS If the rolling motion is ignored, the result would be which is what we expect from considering
only the linear motion.

68. The CM of the marble travels in a circle of radius inside the loop-the-loop, so at the top,
To remain in contact with the track, or If we assume that energy is conserved between
points A (the start) and B (the top of the loop), and use and we find
or

69. INTERPRET In this problem we are given a disk with non-uniform mass density, and asked to find its total mass
and rotational inertia.
DEVELOP As mass elements, choose thin rings of width dr and radius r (as in Example 10.7) so that

The total mass is and the rotational inertia about the disk axis is
EVALUATE (a) The disk’s total mass is

(b) The disk’s rotational inertia about a perpendicular axis through its center is

ASSESS Our result for I is intermediary between a disk of uniform density and a ring, i.e., if
expressed in terms of the total mass M, but is less than a disk of uniform density i.e., since is
the maximum density.

70. Since the axis is frictionless, the conservation of mechanical energy relates (when the hole is at the bottom) to
(when the hole is at the top), or
is the rotational inertia of the disk about a perpendicular axis through its center (see Problem 65), and M is
the mass of the original complete disk in Problem 65 (i.e., without the hole). The mass of the material removed to
form the hole is and the mass of the remaining wheel is Therefore, the CM of the
wheel, at a
distance ycm from the center, opposite to the center of the hole, is given by or
The difference in height of the CM between positions with the hole at the bottom and at the top is
 Rotational Motion 10.17

so the change in potential energy is

Finally,

71. INTERPRET We are asked to show that the rotational inertia of a planar object around an axis perpendicular to the
plane of the object is equal to the sum of the rotational inertias around two perpendicular axes within the plane of
the object. We will use the integral form of rotational inertia, since this is a continuous distribution.
DEVELOP The rotational inertia is We will set up our coordinate system such that the two rotational
axes within the plane of the object are the x and y coordinate axes.
EVALUATE The rotational inertia around the x axis is The rotational inertia around the y
axis is The sum of the two is but is just
the distance r from the perpendicular z axis, so
ASSESS We have proven what was requested.
72. INTERPRET We use the perpendicular-axis theorem (see Problem 10.71) to check the rotational inertia for a flat
rectangular plate around a perpendicular axis given in Table 10.2. We also use it to find the rotational inertia of a
thin disk around an axis along the diameter.
DEVELOP The rotational inertia of a flat plate around a central axis in the plane of the plate is given in Table 10.2
as The rotational inertia of a flat plate around a central axis perpendicular to the plate is given in the
same table as
We will see that the first, taken along two perpendicular axes, adds to give the second. In the second part, we will
work backward from with the perpendicular-axis theorem to find the rotational inertia of a thin disk
around an axis in the plane of the disk.
EVALUATE (a) Along the axis shown for the first case, Along a second, perpendicular, axis in the
plane of the plate, The sum of these two is which is the equation given for the plate
around an axis perpendicular to the plate.
(b) The rotational inertia of a disk through the center, is equal to the sum of the rotational inertias
around two perpendicular diameters. Since the rotational inertia around any diameter has the same value,

ASSESS We have shown that Table 10.2 is consistent, and we have used this theorem to find a new rotational
inertia value not shown on the table.
73. INTERPRET We find the rotational inertia of a right cylindrical cone, using the integral form for I.
DEVELOP We divide the cone into circular slices, and by integrating over all these slices we find the total
rotational inertia of the cone. The height of the cone is h and the base radius is R, so the radius of each slice is
where x is the distance from the apex. The volume of the cone is where A is the area of the base,
so The volume of each disk-shaped slice is The cone has uniform mass density
so each disk has mass The rotational inertia of each disk is
EVALUATE

ASSESS The units are correct. The value of I is less than that of a cylinder, since more of the mass is concentrated
along the axis of the cone.
10.18 Chapter 10

74. INTERPRET We are to show that the rotational inertia of a uniform solid spheroid, about the axis of revolution, is
regardless whether the spheroid is prolate, oblate, or spherical. R in this case is the semi-axis perpendicular
to the axis of revolution.
DEVELOP We imagine slicing a sphere into a large number of thin slices, cut perpendicularly to the rotation axis.
Now if we stretch the sphere into a prolate spheroid, it’s the same as increasing the thickness of each slice, without
changing the mass or mass distribution of that slice. We have not moved any mass toward or away from the axis of
rotation, though, so the rotational inertia of each disk stays the same. Since the rotational inertia of the spheroid is
just the sum of the rotational inertias of the disks, which don’t change, the rotational inertia of the spheroid is the
same as that of the sphere.
EVALUATE We’re actually done already. For the oblate spheroid, we do the same thing but compress each disk.
Again, the rotational inertia of each disk does not change, so the rotational inertia of the spheroid does not change.
ASSESS Following this same reasoning, the rotational inertia of a rectangular plate, through an axis centered in
the plane of the plate, should be the same as for a thin rod through the center. We can check this with Table 10.2,
and we find that it is the case.
75. INTERPRET We are designing a space station, and need to know the thrust of the rockets that spin the station up
to speed. We know the mass and geometry of the station, so we can find the rotational inertia. We know the desired
centripetal acceleration, so we can find the angular speed necessary. We know the time it takes to get up to speed,
so we can use the equations for constant angular acceleration to find the force necessary.
DEVELOP The rotational inertia is the mass is and the radius is We can use
to find the desired angular speed. The rotational equivalent of Newton’s second law is
which we can use to find the angular acceleration We also use the angular acceleration in Equation 10.7,
The torque is provided by 4 rockets at the rim of the station, each with thrust F, so Put all
these pieces together to find F necessary to get to speed in time
EVALUATE First, find the angular speed needed: Next, find the angular acceleration

needed: Newton’s second law tells us that Equate

these two expressions for and solve for F:

ASSESS The units in our final equation are which is correct. This seems like a
small force, but it is acting at a great distance, the time needed is long, and the final speed is not great.
76. INTERPRET What angular acceleration is required to change a wheel’s speed in a given time? We can use the
equations for constant angular acceleration.
DEVELOP The initial angular speed is 7.48 rev/s, and the final is 9.39 rev/s. We’ll need to change these to
radians/s. The time needed is 140 s. We solve Equation 10.7, for
EVALUATE The initial angular speed is The final angular speed is

ASSESS A fairly small angular acceleration, for a small change in angular speed in a large time.
77. INTERPRET Find a force from a torque and a distance. Use the definition of torque, and since no angular
information is given, assume that the force is applied at 90°.
DEVELOP We solve this for F.
EVALUATE
ASSESS Since the distance is approximately 1 meter, the torque and the force have nearly the same numeric value.
78. INTERPRET We are checking whether marketing figures about flywheel energy storage and power availability
are correct. We will use angular kinetic energy, and the definition of power.
DEVELOP The flywheel is ring-shaped, so we’ll use with and Rotational
kinetic energy is and the initial angular velocity is
 Rotational Motion 10.19

EVALUATE The energy stored in this flywheel is This is almost a thousand

times less than the claimed energy storage. The power tells us that if power were taken from this flywheel
at a rate of 25 kW, the time until it stopped would be or if we needed power for the
power it could supply for that time would be only
ASSESS This flywheel might be able to run the taillight of the car for 400 seconds, but other than that it’s nearly
useless. The specs are wildly incorrect!