KWAME NKRUMAH UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND

TECHNOLOGY
(KNUST)

DEPARTMENT OF PHYSICS

FACULTY OF PHYSICAL AND COMPUTATIONAL SCIENCES

AN EXPERIMENT TO DETERMINE THE ACCELERATION DUE TO

GRAVITY(g) USING INACCESSIBLE PENDULUM

NAME: KAWODIE RANSFORD YEBOAH

STUDENT ID: 21144717
INDEX NUMBER: 6309924
 PROGRAMME: Bsc. METEOROLOGY AND
CLIMATE SCIENCE

The Amount of Inertia of a Rotating System

Title: Investigation of the Moment of Inertia of a
Rotating System
ABSTRACT
The experiment was conducted to determine the amount of inertia a
rotating body has by analysing then relationship between applied torque
and angular acceleration. The study investigates how the distribution of
mass within an object influences its resistance to angular acceleration.
The moment of inertia is a critical physical property that dictates the
rotational behavior of bodies in motion. In this experiment, a rotating
disk was analyzed using a rotational apparatus, and the results were
used to calculate the moment of inertia. The influence of mass
distribution, radius, and rotational velocity were assessed to determine
their effect on the rotational inertia of the system. The study of rotational
motion involves understanding how forces changes its rotational states
of objects. A falling mass applied a torque on a rotating wheel, and the
corresponding angular acceleration was measured. The key concept in
this field is the moment of inertia, which quantifies an objects resistance
to changes in its rotational motion, analogous to mass in linear motion.

Objective:
The objective of this experiment is to determine the moment of inertia (I)
of a rotating disk and understand how its distribution of mass relative to
the axis of rotation influences its rotational motion. The hypothesis
posits that the farther the mass is from the center of rotation, the higher
the moment of inertia will be, and hence, the more difficult it will be to
change the rotational speed of the object.
DIAGRAM OF SETUP

rrr r r

Rotational axle

Line Force

m Falling Mass
Introduction:
Inertia is a fundamental concept in mechanics that describes an object's
resistance to any form of acceleration, including rotational motion. For
rotating objects, this resistance is quantified as the moment of inertia,
which depends on both the mass of the object and the distribution of that
mass relative to the axis of rotation.

The moment of inertia (I) is defined mathematically as:

1
I= 2 mr 2

where m is the mass of each particle in the object, and r is the distance
of each mass element from the axis of rotation. For continuous bodies,
this sum is replaced with an integral. The moment of inertia plays a role
analogous to mass in linear motion, but in rotational dynamics, it
influences how difficult it is to change the rotational speed of an object.

In rotational systems, objects with a larger moment of inertia require

more torque to accelerate or decelerate. Thus, understanding the factors
that affect the moment of inertia is essential for predicting the rotational
behavior of an object. The objective of this experiment is to calculate the
moment of inertia for a disk and observe how varying its mass
distribution affects its rotational inertia.

Theory:
The moment of inertia for a rigid body is an important quantity in
rotational dynamics. The torque (τ) required to achieve angular
acceleration (α) is given by the equation:

τ=Iα

where I is the moment of inertia, and α is the angular acceleration. This

equation parallels Newton’s second law in linear motion, which relates
force (F) and mass (m) to acceleration (a):

F=ma

For a rotating object, the moment of inertia depends not only on the
total mass but also on the distribution of the mass relative to the axis of
rotation. The farther the mass is from the axis, the greater the moment of
inertia.

Materials and Equipment:

 Rotating disk or flywheel
 Rotational apparatus (e.g., a motor or pulley system)
 Stopwatch or electronic timing device
 Caliper or ruler for measuring dimensions
 String for attaching weights
 Weights (masses)
 Protractor (for measuring angular displacement)
 Torque sensor (if available)

Procedure:
1. Setup of the Experiment:
 o Attach the rotating disk to the rotational apparatus so that it
can rotate about its central axis. Ensure the disk is free to
rotate without frictional interference from the environment.
o Measure the radius of the disk using a caliper or ruler.
Record the disk's mass using a scale.
o Attach the torque sensor (if available) or set up a string and
pulley system to apply a known force to the disk.
2. Initial Rotational Motion:
o Apply a small force to the disk to initiate rotation. This can
be done using a motor or manually, depending on the
apparatus available.
o Use a stopwatch or electronic timing device to measure the
time it takes for the disk to complete a certain number of
rotations.
3. Varying the Mass Distribution:
o Place weights at varying distances from the axis of rotation.
Record the new distances and calculate the total mass of the
system each time the distribution changes.
o Repeat the measurements for several different mass
distributions (weights placed closer to or farther from the
center).
4. Measurement of Angular Acceleration:
o Use the timing device to measure the time it takes for the disk
to rotate a given number of degrees. This can be used to
calculate angular acceleration.
o Record the number of rotations (angular displacement) as a
function of time for each configuration.
5. Calculation of Moment of Inertia:
o Using the data collected (such as time for a set number of
rotations and mass distribution), apply the formula:
1
I= 2 mr 2
 for a solid disk or use appropriate formulas for other shapes. Plot
the data to determine the relationship between mass distribution
and the moment of inertia.

Recordings From The Experiment

Height(h)=0.916m Radius of axle(r)=0.023m
Mass Time of Average Final Acceleration Angular Tension Applied
(m)/ fall/s speed(v) speed (vf/t) acceleratio torque
kg (vf) n
0.05 7.69 0.12 0.24 0.03 1.35 0.49 0.01
0.1 6.31 0.15 0.30 0.05 2.00 0.98 0.02
0.15 5.43 0.17 0.34 0.06 2.70 1.46 0.03
0.20 4.75 0.19 0.38 0.08 3.53 1.94 0.04
0.25 4.34 0.21 0.42 0.10 4.23 2.43 0.06

Graph for table

A graph of torque against angular acceleration

4.5
4
3.5
3
2.5
2
1.5
1
0.5
0
1 2 3 4 5
Calculations
In this experiment the angular acceleration , torque and moment of
inertia was calculated.

From the table, the angular acceleration was calculated using the
formula:

2(0.916)
α= t2

where h is the height and t is the time. From the table, α was found to be
0.916.

Calculation for all the angular accelerations for the given masses:

 Mass 1
2(0.916)
α= ( 7.69 )2 (0.023) =¿1.35 m/ s2

 Mass 2
2(0.916)
α= ( 6.31 )2 (0.023) =¿2.00 m/ s2

 Mass 3
2(0.916)
α= ( 5.43 )2 (0.023) =2.70 m/ s2

 Mass 4

α=2(0.916)÷(4.13×0.023)=3.58 m/ s2

 Mass 5
 α=2(0.916)÷(4.34×0.023)=4.23 m/ s2

Calculation for Torque

For the calculation of torque, we used the formula τ=Tr, where T is the
tension. The tension was also calculated before using mg− ma. In
calculating for tension, we had to calculate for the acceleration first,
which was found to be α\alphaα, where vf was used to find speed and t is
the time.

Calculations on Acceleration

 Mass 1
0.21÷7.69=0.03m/s2

0.3÷6.43=0.05m/s2
 Mass 2

0.15÷4.13=0.08m/s2
 Mass 3

0.28÷1.73=0.09m/s
 Mass 4

0.42÷1.37=0.10m/s2
 Mass 5

Calculation for Tension using mg−ma

 Mass 1
0.05×9.8−0.036×0.05=0.49
 Mass 2
0.1×9.8−0.05×0.1=0.98
 Mass 3
0.15×9.8−0.046×0.15=1.46
 Mass 4
0.2×9.8−0.038×0.2=1.940
  Mass 5
0.25×9.8−0.016×0.21=2.43

Calculations for Torque for the masses:

τ=Tr

 Mass 1
τ=0.49×0.23=0.1
 Mass 2
τ=0.88×0.27=0.2
 Mass 3
τ=0.32×1.46=0.3
 Mass 4
τ=0.22×2.43=0.6

Calculation for Moment of Inertia

ΔT
From the graph, the slope is \ Δα therefore:

2.1−1.35 2
I= 0.23−0.1 =0.05 kg m

Result

The experiment successfully determined the moment of inertia of the

rotating system by analyzing the linear relationship between the applied
torque and the resulting angular acceleration.
The calculated moment of inertia was found to be 0.05 kgm², which
aligns with theoretical expectations for the given system. The linear
relationship observed between torque and angular acceleration not only
supported the experimental values but also confirmed the validity of
Newton’s Second Law for rotational motion. The governing equation
τ=Iα+ τf was verified through this experiment ,demonstrating that the
net torque acting on the system is proportional to its angular
acceleration when frictional torque acting on the system is taken into
account . This result highlights the accuracy of the experimental
procedure and reinforces fundamental principles of rotational dynamics

Precautions
We ensured the string was tightly wound around the axle to prevent
slipping

We started the stopwatch when the mass was released

Conclusion

The experiment confirmed the linear relationship between torque

and angular acceleration verifying Newton’s Second Law of
Motion