Product Summary
Add the Rotational Inertia Accessory to any PASCO Rotary Motion Sensor to study the oscillations of a pendulum, the rotational inertia of a disk, a steel ring and a metal rod, as well as the conservation of momentum during a rotational collision. The clamp-on Super Pulley allows students to apply a torque by hanging a mass over the pulley.
Conservation of Angular Momentum
To demonstrate conservation of angular momentum, a non-rotating ring is dropped onto a rotating disk. The angular velocity of the disk is recorded in real time, and students can easily determine the angular velocities of the disk just before and after the ring is dropped. Combining these velocities with the rotational inertia of the disk and ring, students can confirm that angular momentum is conserved.
Coupled Pendulums
Couple two pendulums with a rubber band and plot the Position vs. Time for each pendulum. The result is a vivid example of energy transfer between the pendulums.
Large Amplitude Pendulum
By placing one mass on each end of the tube, the pendulum will oscillate slowly. Students will have time to view the motion of the pendulum, while also watching the real-time graph of displacement, velocity, and acceleration vs. time. The period can be measured as a function of the amplitude of the pendulum and compared to theory.
What's Included
Product Specifications
| Disk Mass | 100 g |
| Ring Mass | 100 g |
| Disk Diameter | 8.9 cm |
| Ring Diameter | 8.9 cm O.D., 7.9 cm I.D. |
| Rod Mass | 28 g |
| Rod Dimensions | 0.8 cm diameter, 38 cm long |
| Brass Masses | 75 g |
| Alignment Guide Mass | 2 g |
Experiment Library
Perform the following experiments and more with the Rotational Inertia Accessory.
Visit PASCO's Experiment Library to view more activities.
College • High School / Physics
Newton's Second Law for rotation: The resulting angular acceleration (α) of an object is directly proportional to the net torque (τ) on that object. The hanging mass applies a torque to the shaft of the Rotary Motion Sensor...
College • High School / Physics
This experiment explores the oscillatory motion of a physical pendulum for both small and large amplitudes. Waveforms are examined for angular displacement, velocity and acceleration, and the dependence of the period of a pendulum...
Advanced Placement • College • High School / Physics
Students use hanging masses to apply torque to a rotating arm and measure its angular acceleration. After varying the torque, they experimentally determine the mathematical relationship between net torque and angular acceleration.
College • High School / Physics
The purpose of this experiment is to find the rotational inertia of a ring and a disk experimentally and to verify that these values correspond to the calculated theoretical values.
College • High School / Physics
A non-rotating ring is dropped onto a rotating disk. The angular speed is measured immediately before the drop and after the ring stops sliding on the disk. The measurements are repeated with a non-rotating disk being dropped...
Advanced Placement • College • High School / Physics
Students measure the change in angular velocity when a rotating disc experiences a sudden change in rotational inertia.
