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Moment of Inertia - Rolling Objects: Purpose

This experiment aimed to find the moment of inertia of a sphere and cylinder by rolling them down an inclined plane and timing their descent. Measurements were taken of the objects' diameters, masses, and descent times over 5 trials. The moment of inertia was calculated using these values and compared to theoretical calculations. Both objects had average calculated moments of inertia within 17-18% of theoretical values, showing the method was reasonably accurate despite experimental errors from human timing inconsistencies and objects not rolling perfectly down the center of the plane.

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36 views

Moment of Inertia - Rolling Objects: Purpose

This experiment aimed to find the moment of inertia of a sphere and cylinder by rolling them down an inclined plane and timing their descent. Measurements were taken of the objects' diameters, masses, and descent times over 5 trials. The moment of inertia was calculated using these values and compared to theoretical calculations. Both objects had average calculated moments of inertia within 17-18% of theoretical values, showing the method was reasonably accurate despite experimental errors from human timing inconsistencies and objects not rolling perfectly down the center of the plane.

Uploaded by

jameskahn
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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MOMENT OF INERTIA ROLLING OBJECTS

William Gregory
Physics 2425L-03L
11/11/14

PURPOSE
To find the moment of inertia of a rigid body by rolling it down an inclined plane.

PROCEDURE
SETUP the inclined plane with one end resting on the table and the other end raised with blocks. Make
several measurements of the time required for the mass to roll, starting from rest, down the plane. Enter
measurements in an Excel spreadsheet table.
The length of the inclined plane (1.28m) was measured. The height of the inclined plane (.131m) was
measured. We used a stop watch to measure the time required for the masses to roll down the plane.
SPHERE diameter (.025m) was measured and divided by 2 for the radius (.0125m). The sphere mass
(.0098kg) was weighed. The Icm theoretical was calculated using the following equation:
Icm = 2Mr^2 / 5 = (2(.0098)(.0125)^2) / 5 = 6.125E-7
(Icm=moment of inertia, M=mass, r=radius)
The sphere was then rolled down the plane for 5 trials with the time recorded for each trial. The Icm
actual was calculated using the following equation:
Icm = ((Mght^2 / 2l^2) M) r^2
(Icm=moment of inertia, M=mass, g=gravity, h=height, t=time, l=length, r=radius)
The Average I, Standard error, and Percent error compared to the theoretical values were then
calculated for the sphere.
Ball
Trial
1
2
3
4
5
Average
Standard Dev
Standard Error
Percent error

Distance
1.28m
1.28m
1.28m
1.28m
1.28m

Time

9.62E-07
1.9002919533
0.8498363969
16%

2.08s
2.17s
1.96s
2.23s
2.02s

Icm
3.20E-07
1.30E-06
7.70E-07
1.50E-06
9.20E-07

CYLINDER diameter (.022m) was measured and divided by 2 for the radius (.011m). The cylinder
mass (.0661kg) was weighed. The Icm theoretical was calculated using the following equation:
Icm = Mr^2 / 2 = ((.0661)(.011)^2) / 2 = 3.99905E-6
(Icm=moment of inertia, M=mass, r=radius)
The cylinder was then rolled down the plane for 5 trials with the time recorded for each trial. The Icm
actual was calculated using the following equation:
Icm = ((Mght^2 / 2l^2) M) r^2
(Icm=moment of inertia, M=mass, g=gravity, h=height, t=time, l=length, r=radius)
The Average I, Standard error, and Percent error compared to the theoretical values were then
calculated for the cylinder.
Cylinder
Trial
1
2
3
4
5

Distance
1.28m
1.28m
1.28m
1.28m
1.28m

Average
Standard Dev
Standard Error
Percent Error

7.08E-06
1.9002893
0.8498352
17.70%

Time
2.25s
2.14s
2.07s
2.21s
2.29s

Icm
7.90E-06
6.40E-06
5.40E-06
7.30E-06
8.40E-06

ERROR ANALYSIS
This experiment had errors due to the human factor of stopping of the stop watch when the mass
reached the end of the inclined plane and similarly not being consistent of letting the mass go at the
same time as the stop watch was starting. Another factor was making sure the mass would roll down
the ramp without hitting the sides of the ramp which caused the mass to slow.

CONCLUSION
In this experiment the method used was accurate enough to calculate a reasonable standard deviation
and percent error of the mass in our experiment. Though there were many errors, the calculations for
the average and standard error were proved.

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