Wireless Rotary Motion Sensor
Experiment 1: Rotational Inertia of a Point
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B. Finding the Acceleration of the Apparatus Alone
1.
Take the point masses off the ends of the rod.
2.
Repeat the procedure from Part A for finding the angular acceleration of the apparatus alone.
•
You may need to decrease the amount of hanging mass so that the apparatus does not accelerate too fast for
smooth data collection.
•
Remember that the value of the slope, m, is the angular acceleration.
3.
Record the data in Data Table 2.
Data Table 2: Experimental Rotational Inertia Data
Calculations
1.
Calculate the experimental value of the rotational inertia of the point masses and apparatus together and
record the calculation in Data Table 3.
2.
Calculate the experimental value of the rotational inertia of the apparatus alone and record the calculation in
Data Table 3.
3.
Subtract the rotational inertia of the apparatus from the total rotational inertia of the point masses and
apparatus together. Record this in Data Table 3 as the rotational inertia of the point masses alone.
4.
Calculate the theoretical value of the rotational inertia of the point masses and record the calculation in Data
Table 3.
5.
Calculate the percent difference to compare the experimental value to the theoretical value, and record the
percent difference in Data Table 3.
Data Table 3: Results
Point Mass
es
and
Apparatus
Apparatus Alone
Hanging Mass
Slope, m
Radius
Component
Rotational Inertia
Point Masses and Apparatus Combined
Apparatus Alone
Point Masses (experimental value)
Point Masses (theoretical value)
Percent Difference
