Rotational Motion –

Part II

AP Physics 1
 Torque
So far we have analyzed translational motion in terms of its angular
quantities. But we have really only focused on the kinematics
and energy. We have yet to add dynamics (Newton's Laws) to
the equation..
Since Newton's Laws governs
how forces act on an object we
need to look at how force is
applied under angular
conditions.

TORQUE is the ANGULAR

counterpart to FORCE.

Torque is defined as the Force that is applied TANGENT to the circle rotating
around a specific point of rotation.
Torque TWO THINGS NEED TO BE
UNDERSTOOD:

1) The displacement from a point of

rotation is necessary. Can you
unscrew a bolt without a wrench?
Maybe but it isn't easy. That extra
distance AWAY from the point of
rotation gives you the extra leverage
you need.
THUS we call this distance the
LEVER (EFFORT) ARM (r) .

2) The Force MUST be perpendicular to the displacement. Therefore,

if the force is at an angle, sin is needed to meet the perpendicular
requirement.
Torque is a CROSS
PRODUCT

If the force is truly perpendicular, then the sine of 90 degrees will equal to 1.
When the force is applied, the bolt itself moves in or out of the page. In other
words, the FORCE and DISPLACEMENT (lever arm) are in the X/Y plane,
but the actual displacement of the BOLT is on the "Z“ axis.

We therefore have what is called, CROSS PRODUCT.

Counterclockwise rotation is considered to be POSITIVE and OUT OF

THE PAGE
Clockwise rotation is considered to be NEGATIVE and INTO THE
PAGE.
 Static Equilibrium
According to Newton's first
law, if an object is at rest it
r1 r2
can be said to be in a state
of static equilibrium. In other
words, all of the FORCES
cancel out to that the net
force is equal to zero. Since
torque is the angular
analog to force we can
say that if a system is at
rest, all of the TORQUES
cancel out.
Static Equilibrium Example
r1 r2

Suppose a 4600 kg elephant were

placed on a see-saw with a 0.025 kg
mouse. The elephant is placed 10
meters from the point of rotation. How
far from the point of rotation would the
mouse need to be placed so that the
system exists in a state of static
equilibrium?
 Fr sin  ,  90, sin 90 1
meleph gr1 mmouse gr2
 ccw   cw
(4600)(9.8)(10) (0.025)(9.8)r2
Feleph r1 Fmouse r2
r2  1.84 x 106 m or 1433 miles
meleph gr1 mmouse gr2 (certainly not practical)
What did we forget to include in
the last example?
r1 r2

r3
THE PLANK ITSELF!
COMplank
If the lever itself has mass,
you must include it in the
calculations. It’s force( or F3
weight in this case) will act at
the rods CENTER OF MASS.
If the plank was uniform and
its COM was in the middle the  Fr sin  ,  90, sin 90 1
equation would have looked
like this.  ccw   cw
Feleph r1 Fmouse r2  Fplank r3
meleph gr1 mmouse gr2  m plank gr3
Not in static equilibrium?
If an object is NOT at equilibrium, then it must be
accelerating. It is then looked at according to
Newton’s Second Law.

Under translational conditions a NET FORCE

produces an ACCELERATION.

Under Angular Conditions a NET TORQUE

produces an ANGULAR ACCELERATION.

This NEW equation for TORQUE is the

Rotational Analog to Newton's second Law.
Example
Consider a beam of Length L, mass m, and moment of inertia
(COM) of 1/2mL2. It is pinned to a hinge on one end.
Determine the beam's angular acceleration.

Let’s first look at the beam’s F.B.D.

There are always vertical and horizontal

forces on the pinned end against the
hinge holding it to the wall. However,
those forces ACT at the point of
rotation.
FH mg

Fv
Example
Consider a beam of Length L, mass m, and moment of inertia (COM) of
1/12mL2. It is pinned to a hinge on one end.

Determine the beam's angular acceleration.

Fr sin   I
(mg cos  )( L )(1) I pin
2
(mg cos  )( L ) ( I cm  md 2 )
2
mgcos (mg cos  )( L ) ( 1 mL2  m( L ) 2 )
 2 12 2
mg   3 g cos 
2L
In this case, it was the vertical component of the weight that was
perpendicular to the lever arm. Also, we had to use the parallel axis
theorem to determine the moment of inertia about the END of the
beam.
Example Consider a hanging mass wrapped around a
MASSIVE pulley. The hanging mass has
weight, mg, the mass of the pulley is mp, the
radius is R, and the moment of inertia about its
center of mass Icm = 1/2mpR2. (assuming the
pulley is a uniform disk). Determine the
acceleration of the hanging mass.

Let’s first look at the F.B.D.s for both

the pulley and hanging mass

T FN

T
mhg
mpg
Example cont’T
FNet ma
FN mh g  T mh a
a

mhg
T mh g  mh a
T
mpg

Fr sin   I mh g  mh a T  1 m p a
2
TR I , a r I disk @ CM  1 m p R 2
2 mh g  1 m p a  mh a
a 2
TR  1 m p R 2 ( )
2 R mh g
a
T  1 mpa 1 m p  mh
2 2
Example A trickier problem: Calculate the acceleration of the
system:

Assume m1 is more massive than m2

What you have to understand is that when the
PULLEY is massive you cannot assume the tension
is the same on both sides.

Let’s first look at the F.B.D.s for both

the pulley and the hanging masses.

T1 FN
T2

T1 T2
m1g m2g
mpg
Example cont’
T1 T2
FNet ma FNet ma
m1 g  T1 m1a T2  m2 g m2 a
T1 m1 g  m1a T2 m2 a  m2 g
m2g
m1g

FN
Fr sin    I
T1 R  T2 R I , a r I disk @ CM  1 m p R 2
2
T2 a
T1 T1 R  T2 R  1 m p R 2 ( )
2 R
T1  T2  1 m p a
mpg 2
Example
T1  T2  1 m p a T1 m1 g  m1a T2 m2 a  m2 g
2
m1 g  m1a  (m2 a  m2 g )  1 m p a
2
m1 g  m1a  m2 a  m2 g  1 m p a
2
m1 g  m2 g m1a  m2 a  1 m p a
2
m1 g  m2 g
a
m1  m2  1 m p
2
Example Consider a ball rolling down a ramp. Calculate the
translational acceleration of the ball's center of
mass as the ball rolls down. Find the angular
acceleration as well. Assume the ball is a solid
sphere.

Let’s first look at the ball’s F.B.D

Fn
The key word here is “rolling”. Up to
Ff this point we have always dealt with
objects sliding down inclined planes.
The term “rolling” tells us that
mg FRICTION is causing the object to
rotate (by applying a torque to the

ball).
Example cont’
Fn
Fr sin   I
Ff F f R I , a r I sphere @ CM 2 mR 2
3
 mgcos a
F f R 2 mR 2 ( )
mg 3 R
 F f 2 ma
mgsin 3

Fnet ma mg sin   ma F f 2 ma

3

mg sin   F f ma mg sin  2 ma  ma

3
mg sin   5 ma
F f mg sin   ma 3
3 g sin 
a , a R
5
3 g sin 

5R
 Angular Momentum
Translational momentum is defined as inertia in
motion. It too has an angular counterpart.
As you can see we substituted our new angular
variables for the translational ones.

We can look at this another way using

the IMPULSE-MOMENTUM theorem

Setting Impulse equal to the change in

momentum
 F  r  Fr sin 
L  p  r  pr sin   mvr sin 
Or we could look at this from the point of view of torque and its direct
relationship with angular momentum.
2 ways to find the angular
momentum
Rotational relationship
L I In the case for a mass moving in a circle.

mass
L mR  2

v R
Translational relationship 

L  p  r ,  90
L mvR v R In both cases the angular
momentum is the same.
L mR  2
Angular Momentum is also
conserved
Here is what this says: IF THE NET TORQUE is equal
to ZERO the CHANGE ANGULAR MOMENTUM is
equal to ZERO and thus the ANGULAR MOMENTUM
is CONSERVED.

Here is a common example. An ice skater begins a

spin with his arms out. His angular velocity at the
beginning of the spin is 2.0 rad/s and his moment
of inertia is 6 kgm2. As the spin proceeds he pulls
in his arms decreasing his moment of inertia to 4.5
kgm2. What is the angular velocity after pulling in
his arms?
oL L
Io I
(6)(2) (4.5)
 2.67 rad/s
Don’t forget

Just like TORQUE, angular

momentum is a cross
product. That means the
direction is always on a
separate axis from the 2
variables you are crossing.
In other words, if you cross
2 variables in the X/Y plane
the cross product’s direction
will be on the “Z” axis
Some interesting Calculus
relationships
W Fdr F  r  Ftangent ds, ds small arc length
s r  ds rd
W Frd   d  Id
d d
 W I d
dt dt
d 
 W I  d
dt o

2
W I ( )0  K Rotational
2
More interesting calculus
relationships
W F  r
W  
W      ,  
t t t
P 
P Fv