Unit 5 · Torque and Rotational Dynamics

Chapter 5.2

Torque and Rotational Inertia

Heave on a wrench right at the bolt head and nothing turns; slide your hand to the end and the bolt gives. And a broom spun end over end resists far more than the same broom spun about its handle.

free · lesson 16 of 18

By the end

  1. 01Compute torque from a force, its lever arm, and the angle between force and position, and diagram where each force acts
  2. 02Compute rotational inertia for a few point masses and explain why mass far from the axis dominates
  3. 03Apply the parallel-axis theorem and explain why rotational inertia is least about an axis through the center of mass

In unit 5

  1. 5.1Rotational Kinematics
  2. 5.2Torque and Rotational Inertia
  3. 5.3Rotational Equilibrium and Newton's Second Law for Rotation
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