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Tutorial10 v2

This document outlines the tutorial problems for PHY 112 at IIT Kanpur, focusing on various concepts in dynamics including moment of inertia, angular velocity, and angular momentum. It includes detailed problems on the moment of inertia of a regular N-gon, the dynamics of a falling cube, a sliding ladder, the behavior of a spinning cricket ball, the Foucault pendulum, and the angular momentum of a rigid body. Each problem is structured to encourage the application of theoretical principles and mathematical derivations.

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4 views3 pages

Tutorial10 v2

This document outlines the tutorial problems for PHY 112 at IIT Kanpur, focusing on various concepts in dynamics including moment of inertia, angular velocity, and angular momentum. It includes detailed problems on the moment of inertia of a regular N-gon, the dynamics of a falling cube, a sliding ladder, the behavior of a spinning cricket ball, the Foucault pendulum, and the angular momentum of a rigid body. Each problem is structured to encourage the application of theoretical principles and mathematical derivations.

Uploaded by

Harrison
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Department of Physics PHY 112 - Tutorial 10

IIT Kanpur Jan - May 2025

a) b) c)

Figure 1: Figures for problems 1, 2, and 5, respectively.

1. Moment of inertia of a regular N -gon: A regular N -gon (a polygon with N vertices),


of mass M and “radius” R (the distance from the center to each vertex), lies in the x-y
plane. Find its moment of inertia about an axis through the center, perpendicular to
the plane (along the z-axis). The N -gon can be considered as composed of N identical
isosceles triangles, each having a vertex at the center and the other two on the perimeter
of the N -gon.
(a) Use the geometry of the isosceles triangles (each with vertex angle β = 2π
N
) to find
the moment of inertia of one triangle about the axis through the center.
(b) Sum the contributions of all N triangles to show that the moment of inertia of the
N -gon is:  
1 2 2 2 π
I = M R 1 − sin .
2 3 N
Check explicitly that this result matches the scalar moment of inertia of a square
plate about an axis through its center and perpendicular to its surface.

2. Falling cube on a surface: A homogeneous cube of side l and mass m is initially at


rest in a symmetric but unstable equilibrium, balanced with one edge in contact with a
horizontal surface. The cube is given a slight push, causing it to tip and fall. Find the
angular velocity of the cube when one of its faces contacts the surface in two cases:
(a) Edge cannot slide: Determine the angular velocity at the moment of impact,
assuming the edge in contact acts as a fixed pivot (no slipping).
(b) Edge can slide: Determine the angular velocity at impact, assuming the edge
slides freely on a frictionless surface.

3. Sliding ladder: A uniform ladder of length l and mass m stands on a smooth (fric-
tionless) horizontal floor and leans against a smooth vertical wall. Initially, the ladder
is almost vertical and then released. As it slides, the bottom end moves outward while
the top end slides downward. Find the horizontal speed of the ladder’s center of mass
at the moment the top end loses contact with the wall.
(a) Set up the motion: Describe the motion using an angle θ, defined as the angle
between the ladder and the vertical wall. Express the position and velocity of the
center of mass in terms of θ and θ̇.

PHY112: Introduction to Dynamics Sabyasachi Chakraborty, Amit Agarwal


PHY112 Page 2 of 3 Tutorial 10

(b) Use energy and forces: Use conservation of energy to relate the ladder’s velocity
to its position. Then apply Newton’s laws to determine when the top end loses
contact with the wall.
(c) Find the horizontal speed: Calculate the horizontal speed of the center of mass
at the moment of separation from the wall.

4. Superball by Jasprit Bumrah: Indian fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah delivers a cricket
ball with both speed and spin in Test matches. Consider a standard red cricket ball of
mass m, radius R, and moment of inertia I = 25 mR2 (as for a solid sphere). The ball
moves in the x-y plane, where y is vertical and x is horizontal along the pitch. It spins
about the z-axis (perpendicular to the plane) with angular velocity ω. Upon bouncing
off the ground, the ball does not slip during contact, and the collision is elastic. Assume
that the magnitude of the vertical speed is unchanged after the bounce (|vy′ | = |vy |).
(a) Find the relation between the post-bounce horizontal speed vx′ and spin ω ′ , in terms
of their pre-bounce values vx and ω.
(b) Explain how this effect can be advantageous to the bowler.

5. Foucault pendulum and the rotating earth: A Foucault pendulum oscillates at


a location on Earth’s surface, which is rotating. Initially, the pendulum swings in a
vertical plane defined by the pendulum bob and the suspension point. Show that the
plane of oscillation rotates uniformly by 2π cos θ radians per day, where θ is the latitude
of the pendulum’s location.
(a) Define a suitable coordinate system and generalized coordinates for the pendulum
at latitude θ. Derive the Lagrangian for the system, incorporating the Coriolis effect
due to Earth’s rotation.
(b) Using the Lagrangian, derive the equations of motion under the small oscillation
approximation. Show how the Coriolis term couples the coordinates and causes a
rotation of the oscillation plane.
(c) Solve the equations to demonstrate that the oscillation plane rotates uniformly at
a rate of 2π cos θ radians per day. Determine whether this rotation is clockwise
or counterclockwise when viewed from above, and explain how it depends on the
hemisphere.

6. Angular momentum of a rigid body: A rigid body consists of particles labeled by a,


each with mass ma , position vector ra , and velocity va . The body rotates with angular
velocity ω about the origin. The total angular momentum L of the rigid body about
the origin is the sum of the angular momenta of all particles:
X
L= ra × pa ,
a

where pa = ma va is the linear momentum of particle a. In rigid rotation, va = ω × ra


in the lab frame.
PHY112 Page 3 of 3 Tutorial 10

(a) Prove the triple cross product identity:

A × (B × C) = B(A · C) − C(A · B).

(b) Moment of Inertia Tensor and Angular Momentum: Use the identity from
part (a) to write the angular momentum L in terms of ω, and show that Lk = Ikj ωj ,
where Ikj is the moment of inertia tensor. Derive the explicit form of Ikj .
(c) Angular Acceleration in Different Frames: Consider the angular momentum
L in both the inertial (lab) frame and the rotating body frame. Using vector
transformation rules for small rotations, prove:
   
dL dL
= + ω × L.
dt inertial frame dt body frame

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