Practice Problems on Rotation
Rotational Inertia
1. Three point masses, 4 kg each, are shown in figure 1. Determine the moment of
inertia of the masses about point C if each mass is a distance of 25 cm from point
C.
2. The four masses shown on figure 1.b are each 2 kg. They form a square with side Figure 1.a
lengths of 1 meter. What is the moment of inertia of the system of masses about
an axis located at the center of the square?
3. Based on the Moment of Inertia chart below, determine the moment of inertia of a 10.8-
kg sphere of radius 0.648 m when the axis of rotation is through its center.
Figure 1.b
4.
Torque
1. A bolt connecting the main and rear frame of a mountain bike requires a torque of 15N⋅m to tighten. If you
are capable of applying 40N of force to a wrench in any given direction, what is the minimum length of the
wrench that will result in the required torque?
2. Calculate the torque (magnitude and direction) about
point O due to the force 𝐹⃗ in each of the cases sketched
in Fig. 2.a. In each case, both the force 𝐹⃗ and the rod lie
in the plane of the page, the rod has length 4.00 m, and
the force has magnitude 𝐹⃗ = 10.0 N.
3. Calculate the net torque about point O for the two forces
applied as in Fig. 2.b. The rod and both forces are in the Figure 2.a
plane of the page.
4. Two students are balancing on a 10m seesaw. The seesaw
is designed so that each side of the seesaw is 5m long.
The student on the left weighs 60kg and is standing three
meters away from the center. The student on the right
weighs 45kg. The seesaw is parallel to the ground. Assume Figure 2.b
the board that makes the seesaw is massless. What
distance from the center should the student on the right be
if they want the seesaw to stay parallel to the ground?
Center of Mass & Center of Gravity
1. Suppose m1 = 5.0 kg and x1 = 2.0 m, while m2 = 12 kg and x2 = 6.0 m. Find the center of mass of the
system.
2. Two–point masses, m1 = 5Kg and m2 = 2Kg, are located at y = 10m and y = -5 m respectively. Find the
Centre of mass.
3. The Earth has a mass of 5.98 x 1024 kg, the Moon has a mass of 7.35 x 1022 kg, and their center-to-center
distance is 3.85 x 108 m. How far from the center of the Earth is the Earth-Moon center of mass?