Physics

Unit 3

NAD 2023 Standard F4 (Torque)

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 This Slideshow was developed to accompany the textbook
 OpenStax High School Physics
Available for free at https://openstax.org/details/books/physics
By Paul Peter Urone and Roger Hinrichs
2020 edition
 Some examples and diagrams are taken from the OpenStax College Physics,
Physics, and Cutnell & Johnson Physics 6th ed.

Slides created by
Richard Wright, Andrews Academy
[email protected]

2
 After this lesson you will…
• Define arc length, rotation angle, radius of curvature
and angular velocity.
• Calculate the angular velocity
• Establish the expression for centripetal acceleration.

OpenStax High School Physics 6.1, 6.2

OpenStax College Physics 2e 6.1-6.2

3
Newton’s Laws of motion
primarily relate to straight-
line motion.
Uniform Circular Motion
Motion in circle with
constant speed
Rotation Angle ( )
Angle through which an
object rotates

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 Arc Length is the distance around
part of circle
Δ𝒔
Δ𝜃 =
𝒓
 Angle Units:
Revolutions: 1 circle = 1 rev
Degrees: 1 circle = 360°
Radians: 1 circle = 2𝜋
 Arc Length formula must use
radians for the angle unit
2𝜋 = 360° = 1 𝑟𝑒𝑣

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Convert 60° to radians Convert 2 revolutions to
radians

60° 2𝜋 𝜋
=
360° 3

2 𝑟𝑒𝑣 2𝜋
= 4𝜋
1 𝑟𝑒𝑣

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Angular Velocity ( )
How fast an object
rotates

Unit: rad/s
CCW +, CW –

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A CD rotates 320 times in 2.4 s. What is its angular
velocity in rad/s? What is the linear velocity of a point 5
cm from the center?

𝜃 = 320 𝑟𝑒𝑣 (2𝜋/1 𝑟𝑒𝑣) = 640𝜋 𝑟𝑎𝑑

𝑡 = 2.4𝑠
 = 𝜃/𝑡 = 640𝜋 𝑟𝑎𝑑/2.4𝑠 = 838 𝑟𝑎𝑑/𝑠

𝑣 = 𝑟𝜔
𝑟𝑎𝑑
𝑣 = 0.05 𝑚 838 = 41.9 𝑚/𝑠
𝑠

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Make a hypothesis about A

what will happen. Which

path will an object most B

closely follow when the

centripetal force is C

removed?

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1. Put the plate on a flat surface and put a marble in the ridge.
2. Push the marble in the ridge so that it travels around the
plate and then out of the removed section.
3. What is providing the centripetal force? i.e. what is keeping
the marble traveling in a circle?
4. Perform the test several times and record your results.
5. Which of Newton’s Laws explains the results?
6. This would have been more complicated if the object moved
in a vertical circle. Why?

3. Rim of the plate

4. Straight line (B)
5. 1st
6. Gravity would have pulled it down

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Object moves in circular
path
At time t0 it is at point O
with a velocity tangent to
the circle
At time t, it is at point P
with a velocity tangent to
the circle
The radius has moved
through angle 

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Draw the two velocity
vectors so that they have
the same tails.
The vector connecting the
heads is v
Draw the triangle made by
the change in position and
you get the triangle in (b)

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Since the triangles have the
same angle are isosceles,
they are similar.

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At any given moment

v is pointing tangent to the circle

ac is pointing towards the center of the circle

If the object suddenly broke from circular motion would

travel in line tangent to circle

Have a string with something soft on end.

Swing it and let go to illustrate.

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Two identical cars are going around two corners at 30
m/s. Each car can handle up to 1 g. The radius of the
first curve is 50 m and the radius of the second is 100 m.
Do either of the cars make the curve? (hint find the ac)

50 m

100 m

𝑚
𝑣 30 𝑚
𝑎 = 𝑎 = 𝑠 𝑎 = 18
𝑟 50 𝑚 𝑠2
Can’t make it
𝑚
30
𝑎 = 𝑠 = 9𝑚
100 𝑚 𝑠2
Yes

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 After this lesson you will…
• Apply centripetal force

OpenStax High School Physics 6.2

OpenStax College Physics 2e 6.3

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Newton’s 2nd Law
Whenever there is acceleration there is a force to cause it




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Centripetal Force is not a new, separate force created by
nature!

Some other force creates centripetal force

Swinging something from a string  tension
Satellite in orbit  gravity
Car going around curve  friction

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A 1.25-kg toy airplane is attached to a string and swung
in a circle with radius = 0.50 m. What was the
centripetal force for a speed of 20 m/s? What provides
the Fc?

Fc = 1000 N
Tension in the string

𝑚𝑣
𝐹 =
𝑟
𝑚
1.25 𝑘𝑔 20
= 𝑠
0.50 𝑚
= 1000 𝑁

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What affects Fc more: a change in mass, a change in
radius, or a change in speed?

A change in speed since it is squared and the others

aren’t.

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Why do objects seem to fly away from circular motion?

They really go in a straight line according to Newton's

First Law.

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How does the spin cycle in a washing machine work?

The drum’s normal forces makes the clothes to travel in a

circle. The water can go through the holes, so it goes in a
straight line. The water is not spun out, the clothes are
moved away from the water.

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Remember the good old days when cars were big, the seats
were vinyl bench seats, and there were no seat belts? Well
when a guy would take a girl out on a date and he wanted to get
cozy, he would put his arm on the back of the seat then make a
right hand turn. The car and the guy would turn since the tires
and steering wheel provided the centripetal force. The friction
between the seat and the girl was not enough, so the girl would
continue in a straight path while the car turned underneath
her. She would end up in the guy’s arms.

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 After this lesson you will…
• Describe uniform circular motion.
• Calculate angular acceleration of an object.
• Observe the link between linear and angular
acceleration.
• Observe the kinematics of rotational motion.
• Derive rotational kinematic equations.

OpenStax High School Physics 6.3

OpenStax College Physics 2e 9.1-9.4

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 Rotational motion  is like x
 Describes spinning motion   position
 is like v

  velocity
 is like a

  acceleration

CCW is +
CW is -

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Two components to Tangental (linear)
acceleration Tangent to circle
Centripetal Changes speed only
Toward center since parallel to v
Changes direction 
only since
perpendicular to v


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Equations of kinematics 
for rotational motion are 
same as for linear motion



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Reasoning Strategy
1. Examine the situation to determine if rotational motion
involved
2. Identify the unknowns (a drawing can be useful)
3. Identify the knowns
4. Pick the appropriate equation based on the
knowns/unknowns
5. Substitute the values into the equation and solve
6. Check to see if your answer is reasonable

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A figure skater is spinning at 0.5 rev/s and then pulls her
arms in and increases her speed to 10 rev/s in 1.5 s.
What was her angular acceleration?
39.8 rad/s2

𝑟𝑒𝑣 2𝜋 𝑟𝑎𝑑 𝑟𝑎𝑑

𝜔 = 0.5 =𝜋
𝑠 𝑟𝑒𝑣 𝑠
𝑟𝑒𝑣 2𝜋 𝑟𝑎𝑑 𝑟𝑎𝑑
𝜔 = 10 = 20𝜋
𝑠 𝑟𝑒𝑣 𝑠
𝑡 = 1.5 𝑠
𝜔 = 𝜔 + 𝛼𝑡
𝑟𝑎𝑑 𝑟𝑎𝑑
20𝜋 =𝜋 + 𝛼 1.5 𝑠
𝑠 𝑠
𝑟𝑎𝑑
19𝜋 = 𝛼 1.5 𝑠
𝑠
𝑟𝑎𝑑
𝛼 = 39.8
𝑠

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A ceiling fan has 4 evenly spaced
blades of negligible width. As you are
putting on your shirt, you raise your
hand. It brushes a blade and then is
hit by the next blade. If the blades
were rotating at 4 rev/s and stops in
0.01 s as it hits your hand, what
angular displacement did the fan
move after it hit your hand?


𝑟𝑒𝑣
𝜔 =4 , 𝑡 = 0.01 𝑠
𝑠
𝜃 = 𝜔𝑡
𝜔+𝜔
𝜃= 𝑡
2
𝑟𝑒𝑣
0+4
𝜃= 𝑠 0.01 𝑠 = 0.02 𝑟𝑒𝑣 = 0.126 𝑟𝑎𝑑 = 7.2°
2

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 After this lesson you will…
• Calculate torque
• Apply torque to equilibrium problems

OpenStax High School Physics 6.3

OpenStax College Physics 2e 10.1-10.2

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Statics
Study of forces in equilibrium
Equilibrium means no acceleration
First condition of equilibrium

 and
They can still rotate, so…

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 Think of opening a door

 Which opens the door the best?

Picture a
 Big force  large torque
 Force away from pivot  large torque
 Force directed to door  large torque

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τ=F×r
This means we use the component of the force that is perpendicular to
the lever arm
 τ = F r
 τ = F r sin θ
θ is the angle between the force and the radius

 Unit: Nm
CCW  +
CW  −

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 You are meeting the parents of your new “special” friend for the first
time. After being at their house for a couple of hours, you walk out to
discover the little brother has let all the air out of one of your tires. Not
knowing the reason for the flat tire, you decide to change it. You have a
50-cm long lug-wrench attached to a lugnut as shown. If 900 Nm of
torque is needed, how much force is needed?

 F = 2078 N 120°

 Less force required if pushed at 90°

𝜏 = 𝐹𝑟 sin 𝜃
900 𝑁𝑚 = 𝐹(0.5𝑚)(sin 120°)
𝐹 = 2078 𝑁

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Second condition of equilibrium
Net torque = 0

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 A 5 m, 10 kg seesaw is balanced by a little girl (25 kg) and her father (80 kg)
at opposite ends as shown below. How far from the seesaw’s center of mass
must the fulcrum be placed?
1.20 m
80 kg
25 kg xm

10 kg
 How much force 5m
must the fulcrum
support?
1130 N

∑𝜏 = 0
25 𝑘𝑔 ⋅ 9.8 𝑚/𝑠 2.5 𝑚 + 𝑥 + 10 𝑘𝑔 ⋅ 9.8 𝑚/𝑠 𝑥 − 80 𝑘𝑔 ⋅ 9.8 𝑚/𝑠 2.5 𝑚 − 𝑥
=0
612.5 𝑁𝑚 + 245 𝑁 𝑥 + 98 𝑁 𝑥 − 1960 𝑁𝑚 + 784 𝑁 𝑥 = 0
−1347.5 𝑁𝑚 + 1127 𝑁 𝑥 = 0
1127 𝑁 𝑥 = 1347.5 𝑁𝑚
𝑥 = 1.20 𝑚

∑𝐹 = −𝑊 − 𝑊 − 𝑊 + 𝐹 = 0
𝑚 𝑚 𝑚
− 25 𝑘𝑔 9.8 − 80 𝑘𝑔 9.8 − 10 𝑘𝑔 9.8 +𝐹 =0
𝑠 𝑠 𝑠
−1127 𝑁 + 𝐹 = 0
𝐹 = 1127 𝑁

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 After this lesson you will…
• Understand how the moment of inertia affects angular
acceleration
• Apply Newton’s Second Law for torques (τ = I α)

Not in OpenStax High School Physics

OpenStax College Physics 2e 10.3

39
 𝜏=𝐹 𝑟
 𝐹 = 𝑚𝑎
 𝜏 = 𝑚𝑎 𝑟
 𝑎 = 𝑟𝛼
 𝜏 = 𝑚𝑟 𝛼
 𝐼 = 𝑚𝑟  Moment of inertia of a
particle
 𝜏 = 𝐼𝛼
 Newton’s second law for rotation
 α is in rad/s2

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Moment of Inertia (I)
measures how much
an object wants to
keep rotating (or not
start rotating)
Use calculus to find

Unit:
kg m2

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The St. Joseph River Swing
Bridge in St. Joseph,
Michigan has a mass of 300
tons (2.72×105 kg) and is
231 ft (70.4 m) long. If the
motor produces 563 kNm of
torque and takes 10 s to
accelerate the bridge to
0.05 rad/s, what is the
bridge’s moment of inertia?

Due to its well-balanced construction, the 231-foot, 300-ton bridge can be turned with a
single 10-horsepower electric motor. It takes approximately 42 seconds to open.

Δω
𝛼=
Δt
0.05 rad/s − 0 rad/s 𝑟𝑎𝑑
𝛼= = 0.005
10 s 𝑠
𝜏 = 𝐼𝛼
𝑟𝑎𝑑
563 × 10 𝑁𝑚 = 𝐼 0.005
𝑠
1.13 × 10 𝑘𝑔 · 𝑚 = 𝐼

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A spinning ride at a carnival is accelerating at 4 rad/s2. If
the ride is shaped like a hoop, and the motor is exerting
128000 Nm of torque, what is the radius of the 500 kg
ride?

𝜏 = 𝐼𝛼; 𝐼 = 𝑀𝑅
𝑟𝑎𝑑
128000 𝑁𝑚 = 500 𝑘𝑔 𝑅 4
𝑠
𝑘𝑔
128000 𝑁𝑚 = 2000 𝑅
𝑠
64 𝑚 = 𝑅
8𝑚 =𝑅

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