Rotation Lab – PHY 211

Reading

1) Read Knight, Sections 12.3 – 12.7.

Pre-Lab Homework Assignment

A disk with rotational inertia I and radius r is mounted on a frictionless bearing and wrapped
with a massless string. The string leads over a massless, frictionless pulley to a mass m hanging
in the air. The disk starts from rest and begins to rotate as the hanging mass accelerates
downward.

I r

1) Use dynamics to determine an expression for the acceleration of the hanging mass in terms of
measureable quantities.
a) Show that the tension T in the string is given by

𝑇 = 𝑚(𝑔 − 𝑎)

where a is the acceleration of the hanging mass.

b) Express the angular acceleration α of the disk in terms of the acceleration a of the
hanging mass and the radius r of the disk.

c) Use Newton’s second law for rotational motion to show that the acceleration of the
hanging mass is given by

𝑔
𝑎=
𝐼
(1 + )
𝑚𝑟 2
 d) If the disk is solid and uniform with mass M, show that the acceleration of the hanging
mass can be written as

𝑔
𝑎=
𝑀
(1 + 2𝑚)

2) Use conservation of mechanical energy and kinematics to determine an expression for the
acceleration of the hanging mass in terms of measureable quantities.

a) Express the angular velocity ω of the disk in terms of the velocity v of the hanging mass
and the radius r of the disk.

b) Use conservation of mechanical energy to show that the speed vf of the hanging mass just
before it reaches the ground is

2𝑔ℎ
𝑣𝑓 = √
𝐼
(1 + )
𝑚𝑟 2

c) Use kinematics to show that the acceleration of the hanging mass is given by the same
expression as in Step 1(d) above.
 For this experiment, you must turn in the completed set of questions, one per group, and
one prelab per person no later than the start of class next Tuesday, April 17, 2018.

Learning Goals
1) Learn about the relationship between torque, moment of inertia, angular acceleration, and
tangential acceleration of a rotating object.
2) Learn about the relationship between rotational motion and translational motion.
3) Learn how to use conservation of mechanical energy to analyze a system that consists of
potential energy, rotational kinetic energy, and translational kinetic energy.

Objectives
You will determine the acceleration of a falling mass that is attached to a string that wraps
around a freely rotating disk using two different methods – first by using rotational dynamics
and conservation of mechanical energy; second by using a motion sensor.

CAUTION: DO NOT ROTATE THE DISK ON THE AIR TABLE UNESS THE AIR IS
TURNED ON. This will scratch the surface of the air table. Any protrusions on the
surface will impede the motion of the disk.

Introduction

In this apparatus, a hanging mass is tied to a string that is wrapped around a disk. As the hanging
mass falls, the disk will rotate. The rotating disk has a moment of inertia that will impede the
downward (translational) acceleration of the hanging mass.

Because the string remains taut and does not stretch, the acceleration of the hanging mass has the
same magnitude as the tangential acceleration of a point on the edge of the rotating disk. This
relationship provides the connection between the translational motion of the hanging mass and
the rotational motion of the disk. Using dynamics and Newton’s second law for rotational
motion, the theoretical value of the acceleration of the hanging mass can be expressed in terms of
only gravity and the masses of the hanging mass and the disk.

A second approach to analyzing the apparatus in this experiment is to consider the conservation
of the total mechanical energy of the system. Using conservation of mechanical energy, along
with some kinematics, the same expression for the theoretical value of the acceleration of the
hanging mass can be derived as was done using dynamics and Newton’s second law.

In the Theory section your Formal Lab Report, you must show a full derivation of the
formula for the acceleration of the hanging mass using both methods that were described in
the Pre-Lab Homework Assignment. (Both methods should yield the same expression for
the acceleration.)
Setting up the Air Table

Refer to the following three figures while setting up the apparatus.

Set the air table on the lab bench so that the pulley overhangs the edge of the bench. First, make
sure that the air table is level. In a perfect world, this would mean that a disk placed anywhere
on the table would remain at rest when released (with the air turned on). Release a disk from rest
in the middle of the air table. If the disk moves very little, then the table is level enough to

proceed. If the disk moves quickly or shows a noticeable acceleration, adjust the leveling screws
on the underside of the table. Do not let the disk slide off of the table.
Next, screw the stud into the threaded hole on the air table, and slide the disk over the stud. Tie a
piece of thread to the hole on the edge of the disk; this will anchor the string to the disk so that
the string does not unwind unless the disk is turning. Wrap the thread several times around the
groove in the outward-facing edge of the disk.

A small mass will be attached to the thread, which will be passed over the pulley. Make sure
that the thread is long enough to allow the mass to drop all the way to the floor with extra string
still wrapped around the disk. Also make sure that the groove of the pulley is adjusted to the
same height as the groove in the disk, so that the string is horizontal as it passes from the disk to
the pulley.

Theory of Operation: The pulley is very light and rotates on a good ball bearing, so we may
ignore friction and inertia in the pulley. The disk spins on a cushion of air with a ball bearing at
its axis, so friction on the disk may also be ignored. However, the moment of inertia I of the disk
is considerable and cannot be ignored. The thread exerts a torque on the disk relative to its axis,
causing it to rotate, as the mass falls. In this lab, we will analyze the difference in rotation
between a larger disk vs. a smaller disk. You are to predict the time it takes the hanging mass to
fall, starting from rest, from the top surface of the table to the floor.

Experiment

You are given two different-sized disks (small and large) and two different hanging masses (5 g
and 10 g). After making the necessary measurements of the masses, the acceleration of the
hanging mass can be predicted for each of the four possible combinations of disks and masses.
Be sure to evaluate the uncertainties in all measured values in order to determine the uncertainty
in each of the four predicted acceleration values. Use a laboratory balance to find the mass of
both the small disk and the large disk. It may seem that you can’t measure the mass of the large
disk with the triple beam balance, but think about torque and balance, and use common sense
with the available supplies. You have all you need to measure these masses. Measure the
diameters of the disks and divide by 2 to find their radii. Calculate the moment of inertia for each
disk. (You may ignore the effect of small hole in the disks.)

The acceleration of the hanging mass will be determined experimentally using two different
methods for each of the four possible combinations of disks and masses.

For the first method, release the hanging mass and measure the time required for it to reach the
ground experimentally. The time and height of the fall can be used to determine the
experimental value of the acceleration of the hanging mass using kinematics. Be sure to describe
in detail the methods used to determine all measured values and their uncertainties, and use the
uncertainties in the measured values to determine the uncertainty in the acceleration.

For the second method, use a motion sensor that is placed on the floor beneath the hanging mass
to determine its acceleration as it falls. In your Formal Lab Report, describe in detail the
methods used for determining the acceleration and its uncertainty, and be sure to include any
relevant graphs that were used as part of the data analysis.
Lastly, for each of the four combinations, compare both experimental values of the acceleration
to each other and to the predicted value, considering assumptions and experimental uncertainties.
The questions below will require that you have done so.

Note: If you plan to write a formal report for this lab, then you should include a Theory section.
The Theory section of a lab report appears after the Abstract but before the Methods section.
This section should contain a theoretical description of the mathematical derivations that were
performed, along with the derivations themselves.

Rotation Lab Questions and Data: (complete data tables and questions as indicated)

1. What is the formula for the moment of inertia of a disk of uniform mass? I =_________
Show your calculations for each of the moments of inertia below:

2. What equation allows you to predict the free-fall time? t = __________________(sec)

Show a sample calculation of predicted fall time for one of your trials:

3. Explain, and show the equations, below that allow you to experimentally determine the actual
acceleration of the hanging mass as it falls. Do not confuse this with the theoretical
prediction of acceleration you found in the prelab.
4. Complete the table below. The acceleration (a) should be your theoretically predicted
acceleration.

5. Analytically propagate error in the moment of inertia of the disk based upon your prelab
homework below, fully showing all steps:

6. Analytically propagate error in the predicted acceleration of the disk based upon your prelab
homework below, fully showing all steps:

7. Which rotates faster, the large disk or the small disk? Which has the larger moment of inertia?

8. How was torque applied to the disks in this experiment?

9. What is the percent difference between your measured and predicted fall times for each disk?
(show work and full calculations below):

10. Why do the predicted and measured fall times differ?