GENERAL PHYSICS 1 – 2ND QUARTER

Module 1 - Rotational Equilibrium and Rotational Dynamics

This module demonstrates your understanding on the concepts of Rotational Motion. Rotational motion can be most
easily approached by considering how it is analogous to linear of translational motion.

The first part of this module will discuss the kinematics of rotational motion as described in its angular position,
speed and acceleration. The second part will discuss its dynamics and explain the forces that causes objects to rotate. In this
part, you will understand the Physics of simple events observed daily such as the motion of opening doors, the concept
behind see-saw; the motion of ice-skaters and many more.

Specifically, this module will discuss two (2) lessons:

• Lesson 1 – Rotational Kinematics
• Lesson 2 – Rotational Dynamics

LESSON 1: ROTATIONAL KINEMATICS

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.

Activity 1.1 Am I Important?

List some types of rotating objects and how are they important to society. Write your answer in tabular form below.
Types of Rotating Objects Importance to Society

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.

Figure 1.1 Wheel and Axle

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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.

Figure 1.2 The Angle of Displacement

Source: file:///C:/Users/USER/Downloads/rotational_motion_-_day_1___2%20(3).pdf

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,

Where : θ is the angle of rotation,

S is the arc length, and
r is the radius.

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.

Refer to Figure 2 again, what distance (s) was covered? How many degrees were swept by this full rotation? The
point moved around the entire circumference, so it traveled 2πr while an angle of 3600 was swept through. Using the angular
displacement definition:

When an object makes one complete revolution, it sweeps out an angle of 3600 or 2π radians. One radian is the
angle at which the arc has the same length as the radius r.

1 radian = 57.30
The radian is frequently abbreviated as rad.

Sample Problems
1. An object travels around a circle10.0 full turns in 2.5 seconds. Calculate (a) the angular displacement, θ in radians.
Given:
# of turns/complete rotations = 10 turns
Time = 2.5 seconds
Find: Angular displacement (θ) in radians
*Note that 1 complete rotation = 3600 = 2π radians = 6.28 rd

Solution:
Θ = 10.0 turns ( 6.28 rd / turn ) = 62.8 radians.
2. A girl goes around a circular track that has a diameter of 12 m. If she runs around the entire track for a distance of 100
m, what is her angular displacement?
Given:
Diameter of the curved path = 12m;
*Note that diameter = 2r therefore,
r= d/2 so,
r= 12m/2= 6m
Linear displacement, s = 100 m.
Find: Angular displacement θ

Solution:
Θ = s/r → θ = 100m / 6 m = 16.67 radians

Angular displacement can now be related to linear displacement. Working on Kinematics problems with linear
displacement was tackled in your previous lessons. What other quantities played a key role in linear displacement?

Angular Velocity
In linear motion, velocity (v) is defined as the rate of change of the object's position with respect to a frame of
reference and time that is, v=∆x/∆t while acceleration (a) is the rate of change of velocity. In symbol, we have:

a=∆v/∆t ; a=(v_2-v_1)/∆t

In rotational motion, angular velocity (ω) is defined as the change in angular displacement (θ) per unit of time (t).
In symbol,
ω=∆θ/∆t

The symbol ω is pronounced "omega" is used to denote angular velocity.

We usually describe the angular velocity as revolution per second (rev/sec, rps), or radian per second. See Figure
1.3. You will often have to convert this number, since it is usually given as a frequency (revolutions per time frame).

Figure 1.3 Angular Velocity

Source: http://230nsc1.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/rotq.html

From linear velocity conversion, we have:

ω = v/r,
where:
ω is the angular velocity (rad/s),
v is the tangential velocity (m/s), and
r is the radius in circular path (meters).

Starting from angular velocity, let’s substitute the linear displacement for the angular displacement we have:

As you can see, the tangential velocity (v) is directly proportional to the product of the angular velocity and the
radius of the moving object. This confirms your feeling when riding a merry-go-round. Thus, the farther you are from the
center, the faster you feel you are moving.
Sample Problems
1. If an object travels around a circle with an angular displacement of 70.8 radians in 3.0 seconds, what is its average angular
velocity ω in (rd/s)?
Given: Δθ = 70.8 rd ; Δt = 3 s
Find: ω = ?

Solution: ω = Δθ / Δt = 70.8 rd / 3.0 s = 23.6 rd/s.

2. A bicycle wheel with a radius of 0.28 m starts from rest and accelerates at a rate of 3.5 rad/s2 for 8 s. What is its final
angular velocity?
Given: r = 0.28 m; α = 3.5 rd/s2 t =8s
Find: ω =?

Solution: From the equation α = ω / t , we can have ω = αt = 3.5 rd/s2 ( 8s ) = 28 rd/s

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.

In symbol,

Where:
α = angular acceleration, (radians/s2)
Δω = change in angular velocity (radians/s)
Δt = change in time (s)
ω1 = initial angular velocity (radians/s)
ω2 = final angular velocity (radians/s)
t1 = initial time (s)
t2 = final time (s).

The symbol α is pronounced "Alpha". The unit of measure is radian per second squared (rd/s2).

All points in the object have the same angular acceleration. Every point on a rotating has, at any instant a linear velocity (v)
and a linear acceleration (a). Look at the illustration in Figure 1.4 below, we can relate the linear quantities (v and a) to the
angular quantities (ω and α). Linear velocity and angular velocity are related since
v = rω
Where; v is the linear velocity,
r is the radius of the object, and
ω is the angular acceleration.

Figure 1.4 Relation of Linear Velocity and Angular Velocity:

Points farther than the axis of rotation will move faster (linear velocity) but the angular velocity for all points is the same.
Source: https://www.slideshare.net/ibidorigin/12-rotational-motion
 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.
Angular acceleration occurs when the angular velocity changes over time. It acts in the direction of rotation in a
circular motion (not the same as centripetal acceleration). In this case, we must also introduce tangential acceleration at,
since the tangential velocity is changing. If there is angular acceleration, there will also be tangential acceleration

where:
at is the tangential (linear) acceleration (m/s)
r is the radius of circular path (meters)
α is the angular acceleration;
ar is the radial (linear) acceleration (m/s);and
ω is the angular acceleration (rd/s2)

Sample Problems
1. A disc in a DVD player starts from rest, and when the user presses “Play”, it begins spinning..The disc is spins at 160
radians/s after 4.0 s. What was the average angular acceleration of the disc?
Answer:
Given:
T1 = 0 T2 = 4.0 s
ω1 = 0 ω2 =160 rd/s
Find: Angular acceleration (α) =?
Solution:

Between the initial and final times, the average angular acceleration of the disc was 40.0 radians/s 2.

2. A car tire is turning at a rate of 5.0 rd / sec as it travels along the road. The driver increases the car's speed, and as a
result, each tire's angular speed increases to 8.0 rd /sec in 6.0 sec. Find the angular acceleration of the tire.
Answer:
Given: ω1 = 5.0 rd/s; ω0032 = 8.o rd/s; Δt = 6.o s

Find: α=?
Solution:
α = Δω / Δt = (ω2 - ω1) /Δt = ( 8.0 rd/s - 5.0 rd/s ) / 6.0s = 0.50 rd/s2.

3. As a car starts accelerating (from rest) along a straight road at a rate of 2.4 m/s2, each of its tires gains an angular
acceleration of 6.86 rd/s2. Calculate (a) the radius of its tires, (b) the angular speed of every particle of the tires after 3.0s,
and (c) the angle every particle of its tires travels during the 3.0-second period.
Answer
Given: ω1 = 0 (from rest) at = 2.4 m/s2 α = 6.86 rd/s2 Δt = 3.0 s
Find: a) r b) ω2 c) θ
Solution:
(a) From the equation
at = rα, we get r = at /α = [2.4 m/s2] / [6.86 rd/s2] = 0.35m
(b) From the equation
α = (ω2- ωi1)/Δt, we get
α Δt = ω2- ω1
ω2= ω1+ α Δt
ω2= 0 +(6.86rd/s2)(3.0s) = 21 rd/s.
(c) θ = (1/2)α t2 + ωi t = (1/2)( 6.86 rd/s2)(3.0s)2 + (0) (3.0s) = 31 rd.
 Putting these definitions together, you observe a very strong parallel between translational kinematic quantities and
rotational kinematic quantities See Table 1.1 below.

Table 1.1a Symbols for Translational ang Angular Kinematics Quantities

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It’s quite straightforward to translate between translational and angular variables as well when you know the radius
(r) of the point of interest on a rotating object.

Table 1.2 Translational ang Angular Kinematics Quantities (if radius is given)
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The rotational kinematic equations (See table below) can be used the same way you used the translational kinematic
equations to solve problems. Once you know three of the kinematic variables, you can always use the equations to solve for
the other two.

Table 1.3 Translational and Rotational Kinematics Equations

Source:https://www.aplusphysics.com/courses/honors/rotation/honors_rot_kinematics.html

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 1.2 Matched Me Right
Match column A with column B according to their meaning. Write the letter of your answer on the space provided
before each number.
Column A Column B
(Meaning/Definition) (Term/s)
___ 1. A measure of how angular velocity changes over time. A. Angular position
___ 2. The imaginary or actual axis around which an object may rotate. B. Linear velocity
___ 3. It is the change in linear velocity divided by time. C. Axis of rotation
___ 4. It is half of the circle’s circumference D. Tangential Acceleration
___ 5. The orientation of a body or figure with respect to a specified E. Angular velocity
reference position as expressed by the amount of rotation necessary to
change from one orientation to the other about a specified axis.
___ 6. The rate of rotation around an axis usually expressed in radian F. Kinematics
or revolutions per second or per minute.
___ 7. A property of matter by which it remains at rest or in uniform G. Angular acceleration
motion in the same straight line unless acted upon by some external
force.
___ 8. Branch of dynamics that deals with aspects of motion apart from H. Radian
considerations of mass and force.
___ 9. It is the rate of change of the position of an object that is I. Angular displacement
traveling along a straight path.
___ 10. It is an angle whose corresponding arc in a circle is equal to J. Radius
the radius of the circle

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 land 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?
 LESSON 2: ROTATIONAL DYNAMICS
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.

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.

To understand this, let us imagine a door. The door has hinges on

one side. To successfully open the door, you need to apply a force. This
force will cause the door to rotate about its hinges, or its axis of rotation.
This rotation creates Torque.

Torque, also called the Moment of Force, is the result of the force
that can cause an object to rotate about an axis. It is a vector quantity. It
is the cross product of the vector Force and the distance from the axis of
rotation.
Mathematically, τ ⃑=r ⃑ x F ⃑
whose magnitude is equal to τ=r ⊥ F

τ=rFsinθ

where r⊥=rsinθ
And θ is the angle between r and F
S.I. Unit: Nm

The direction of the torque may either be counterclockwise (CCW) or clockwise (CW). By convention, we take the
counterclockwise direction to be positive and clockwise as negative.

From the equation, we see that the effect of the Force on the motion of the rotating body depends on three factors
as follows:
1. Magnitude of the Force
2. Lever Arm (Moment Arm) – perpendicular distance of the line
of action to the axis of rotation
3. The angle between the Force vector and the lever arm

The torque increases as the force increases, and also as the distance
increases. That is why doorknobs are located at the opposite end of the
hinges. It is easier to open the door in this case since small force is needed
to cause torque to the door.

Sample Problems:
1. A crane has an arm length of 20 m inclined at 30º with the vertical. It carries a container of mass of 2 ton suspended from
the top end of the arm. Find the torque produced by the gravitational force on the container about the point where the arm
is fixed to the crane. [Given: 1 ton = 1000 kg; neglect the weight of the arm. g = 9.8 m/s2]

Solution:
τ=rFsinθ where F=weight=mg
=r(mg)sinθ
=(20m)(2000kg)(9.8m/s2)(sin30)
τ=1.96x105 Nm

Note: θ is the angle between r and F

2. Consider the door shown in the figure, which is seen from an aerial view. The circle on the left is the hinge (pivot point).
a. Find the Net Torque acting on the door.
b. Which way will the door open, up or down?

Solution:

a. τnet= τ1+τ2+τ3+τ4
τ1=rF1sinθ=(0)(60N)sin90=0
τ2=rF2sinθ=(0.20m)(50N)sin90=10Nm
τ3=rF3sinθ=(0.2m+0.6m)(70N)sin90=56Nm
τ4=rF4sinθ=(0.2m+0.6m+0.2m)(80N)sin30=40Nm

Before adding the torque, determine their corresponding direction according to the rotation of the door.
τ1 has no rotation since the torque is zero
τ2 and τ4: pulling the door upward would make it rotate in the CCW direction (+)
τ3: pulling the door downward would make it rotate in the CW direction (-)
τnet= 0+10Nm+(-56Nm)+40Nm= -6Nm

b. Since the result of the net torque is negative, this means that the door will rotate in the clockwise or downward
direction.

B. STATIC EQUILIBRIUM
Static equilibrium occurs when an object is at rest – neither rotating nor translating. It is analogous to Newton’s 1st
Law of motion for rotational system. An object which is not rotating remains not rotating unless acted on by an external
torque. Similarly, an object rotating at constant angular velocity remains rotating unless acted on by an external torque.

For an object to maintain in static equilibrium, the following conditions must be met:
1. The net force acting on the object must be zero: ∑F ⃑= 0
2. The net torque acting on the object must be zero: ∑τ = 0

Applications of Static Equilibrium is constantly seen and observed around us. A common example of balanced
torques is two children on a see-saw. If the fulcrum is in the center of the see-saw, the two children must have equal mass
for it to be balanced. If the fulcrum is not in the center, their masses must vary to create equal torques.

This topic will also help you understand important applications in the field of engineering such as building bridges,
the Physics behind crane towers and many more.

Sample Problems:
1. A 0.15kg meterstick is supported at the 50cm mark. A mass of 0.5kg is attached at the 80cm mark.
a. How much mass should be attached to the 40cm mark
to keep the meterstick horizontal?
b. Determine the supporting force from the fulcrum on the
meterstick.

Solution:
a. From the 2nd condition of Equilibrium:
Σ𝜏=0 → 𝜏1+𝜏2=0
Where 𝜏1 is the torque caused by the force exerted by mass m
𝜏2 is the torque caused by the force exerted by the 0.5kg mass
Hanging mass m would cause the stick to rotate in the CCW direction, thus 𝜏1 is (+)
Hanging the 0.5kg-mass would cause the stick to rotate in the CW direction, thus 𝜏2 is (-)
 Σ𝜏=𝜏1−𝜏2=𝑟1𝐹1𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜃−𝑟2𝐹2𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜃=0 where 𝐹=𝑤𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡=𝑚𝑔
[(0.10𝑚)(𝑚)(9.8𝑚/𝑠2)𝑠𝑖𝑛90]−[(0.30𝑚)(0.5𝑘𝑔)(9.8𝑚/𝑠2)𝑠𝑖𝑛90]=0
(0.98𝑚2/𝑠2)𝑚−1.47𝑁𝑚=0 → 𝑚=1.47𝑁𝑚/0.98𝑚2/𝑠2)=1.5𝑘𝑔
m = 1.5kg

b. From the 1st condition of Equilibrium:

2. A firefighter who weighs 800N climbs a uniform ladder and stops one-third of the way up the ladder.
The ladder is 5m long and weighs 180N. It rests against a vertical wall making an angle 53º with the
ground. Find the normal and the frictional forces on the ladder at its base.

Solution:
We first construct the Free-Body Diagram to identity the forces present.

Since the Normal Force is located at the y-axis, we get the net force along this axis.

Σ𝐹𝑦 = 0
𝑁−𝑊𝑝−𝑊𝑙 = 0
𝑁 = 𝑊𝑝+𝑊𝑙 = 800𝑁+180𝑁
𝑁 = 980𝑁

To solve the friction Force, we use get the net force along the x-axis.
Σ𝐹𝑥 = 0
𝐹–𝑓=0 → 𝐹=𝑓

To solve for F, we use the 2nd condition of equilibrium. Σ𝜏 = 0

C. WORK DONE BY A TORQUE

We have seen how Newton’s Laws of motion is similar to rotational motion. Newton’s Laws may be stated in terms
of rotational motion.

1st Law of Rotational Motion:

A body in motion at constant angular velocity will continue in motion at the same angular velocity, unless
acted upon by some unbalanced external torque.

2nd Law of Rotational Motion:

When an unbalanced external torque acts on a body with moment of inertia, I, it gives that body an angular
acceleration α, which is directly proportional to the torque and inversely proportional to the moment of Inertia.
3rd Law of Rotational Motion:
If body A and body B have the same axis of rotation, and if body A exerts a torque on body B, then body
B exerts an equal but opposite torque on body A.
ACTIVITY: TORQUE ME
Direction: Copy the figure in a separate paper and calculate the mass of each item. Show your solutions.
ASSESSMENT