Revision Notes for Class 12 Physics

Chapter 6 - System Of Particles And Rotational Motion

System of particles and rotational motion comes under the fifth unit, Motion of system and
particles. This along with Unit IV and Unit VI have a total weightage of 17 marks, which
implies students will definitely find questions from this chapter. This is purely an
understanding-based chapter which talks about the system of particles and rotational motion.
The topics extensively covered in the notes of Physics Class 11 Chapter 6 are:

• Centre of mass and its motion.

• Centre of mass of a 2 particle system, rigid body and a uniform rod.

• The momentum of force and momentum conservation.

• Torque.

• Moment of Inertia.

• Angular momentum and laws of conservation of momentum.

• Radius of gyration.

• Parallel and perpendicular axis theorem.

Notes of System of Particles and Rotational Motion

Given below are brief explanations of some important concepts and topics covered in the
chapter. For an in-depth understanding of the same, refer to notes on the system of particles
and rotational motion in class 11.

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 • Centre of Mass

The centre of mass of a body is the point at which the entire mass of the body is said to be
concentrated. It is also defined as the balancing point of the system. If any external force is to
be applied at the centre of mass, the body is said to remain unaffected. It means that the body
will stay at rest if at rest and there will be no change in the velocity of the body in motion.

For the centre of mass of a two-particle system at motion,

m1v1 + m2v2
v=
m1 + m2
m1a1 + m2 a2
a=
m1 + m2
Where, v = Velocity of the centre of mass.

a = Acceleration of the centre of mass.

• Motion of Centre of Mass

The motion of the centre of mass is governed by Newton’s laws of motion. If external forces
act on a system, the centre of mass will accelerate according to these forces. The key takeaway
here is that the motion of the centre of mass simplifies the analysis of the entire system,
allowing us to treat it as if all the mass is concentrated at this point. In the absence of external
forces, the centre of mass moves with a constant velocity, demonstrating the conservation of
momentum.

• Linear Momentum of a System of Particles

For a system of particles, the total linear momentum is the sum of the linear momenta of the
individual particles. It is given by:

P=  mi vi

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Where mi is the mass and vi is the velocity of the i-th particle. The motion of the centre of
mass helps simplify this concept, as the total momentum of the system is the product of the
total mass and the velocity of the centre of mass. This section helps explain how forces affect
the motion of systems of particles and how external forces change the total momentum.

• Vector Product of Two Vectors

The vector product (or cross product) of two vectors is essential in understanding rotational
dynamics, especially for quantities like torque and angular momentum. If two vectors A and
B are multiplied using the cross product, the resulting vector is perpendicular to both A and B
and is given by:

A  B =| A || B | sin  nˆ

Where  is the angle between the two vectors and n̂ is a unit vector perpendicular to the plane
formed by A and B. The magnitude of the vector product depends on the sine of the angle
between the two vectors. The cross-product plays a crucial role in calculating rotational
quantities like torque and angular momentum.

• Angular Velocity and its Relation with Linear Velocity

Angular velocity (  ) tells us how fast an object is rotating. It is related to linear velocity
through the equation:

v = r

Where v is the linear velocity of a point on a rotating object, r is the distance of the point from
the axis of rotation, and  is the angular velocity. This relationship is essential when dealing
with objects in circular motion, as it links the rotational motion to the linear speed of points
on the object.

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 • Torque

The turning effect of force about a fixed axis is defined as Torque. It can also be defined as the
Moment of force. The SI unit of Torque is Nm.

 = r  F = rFSin

Where,

τ = Moment of force or torque

r̅ = Perpendicular distance

F̅ = Force

θ = Angle between the two vectors r and F

Torque can also be calculated in terms of angular moment. The relationship between torque
and angular momentum is defined by:

τ = dL/dt

• Equilibrium of a Rigid Body

A rigid body is in equilibrium when both the net force and the net torque acting on it are zero.
This condition ensures that the body is neither accelerating translationally nor rotating. For
translational equilibrium:  F = 0 And for rotational equilibrium:  = 0

• Moment of Inertia

Moment of Inertia is the phenomenon by which the body in motion opposes the change in its
rotational motion. Mathematically, it is defined as the product of the mass of particles and their
distance from the axis of rotation. It is also called the rotational inertia of the body.

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 • Kinematics of Rotational Motion About a Fixed Axis

Just like in linear motion, rotational motion can be described using kinematic equations. For a
rotating object, the angular displacement (  ), angular velocity (  ), and angular acceleration
(  ) are related through kinematic equations similar to those for linear motion:

 = 0 +  t

These equations help in solving problems involving objects rotating about a fixed axis.

• Dynamics of Rotational Motion About a Fixed Axis

Rotational dynamics involves the forces that cause objects to rotate. Newton’s second law for
rotation states that the torque acting on a body is equal to the product of its moment of inertia
and angular acceleration:

 = I

This equation is the rotational analogue of F = ma and helps describe how forces cause changes
in rotational motion.

• Angular Momentum in Case of Rotation About a Fixed Axis

Angular momentum is a measure of the rotational motion of an object. For a body rotating
about a fixed axis, the angular momentum is related to the moment of inertia and angular
velocity:

L = I

Angular momentum is conserved in the absence of external torques, just like linear momentum
is conserved in the absence of external forces.

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System of Particles and Rotational Motion Class 11 Notes Physics - Basic Subjective
Questions

Section-A (1 Mark Questions)

1. A wheel 0.5m in radius is moving with a speed of 12m/s. find its angular speed?

Ans.

v = r

v 12
= =
r 05

 = 24 rad / s .

2. State the condition for mechanical equilibrium of a body?

Ans. For mechanical equilibrium of a body the vector sum of all the forces and moments
(torques) acting on the body must be zero.

3. How is angular momentum related to linear momentum?

Ans. L = r  p

Or L = rp sin θ

Where θ is the angle between r and p .

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4. What is the position of the centre of mass of a uniform triangular lamina?

Ans. Position of the centre of mass of a uniform triangular lamina at the centroid of the
triangular lamina.

1
5. What is the moment of inertia of a sphere of mass 20 kg and radius m about its
4
diameter?

2
Ans. I = MR 2
5

2
2 1
I =  20   
5 4

I = 0  5 kgm2 .

6. What are the factors on which moment of inertia of a body depends?

Ans.

(i) Mass of the body

(ii) Shape and size of the body

(iii) Position of the axis of rotation

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7. Two particles in an iAnsated system undergo head on collision. What is the
acceleration of the centre of mass of the system?

Ans. Acceleration of center of mass is zero as all forces are internal forces.

8. Which component of a force does not contribute towards torque?

Ans. The radial component of a force does not contribute towards torque.

9. What is the position of centre of mass of a rectangular lamina?

Ans. The centre of mass of a rectangular lamina is the point of intersection of diagonals.

10. Does the centre of mass of a body necessarily lie inside the body?

Ans. The centre of mass (C.M.) is a point where the mass of a body is supposed to be
concentrated. The centre of mass of a body need not necessarily lie within it. For example, the
C.M. of bodies such as a ring, a hollow sphere, etc., lies outside the body.

Section-B (2 Marks Questions)

11. A planet revolves around on massive star in a highly elliptical orbit is its angular
momentum constant over the entire orbit. Give reason?

Ans. A planet revolves around the star under the effect of gravitational force since the force is
radial and does not contribute towards torque. Thus in the absence of an external torque
angular momentum of the planet remains constant.

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 dL
12. Prove the relation vec =
dt

Ans. We know L = I 

Differentiating wrt. Time

dL d Id
= ( I ) = = 1 …(1)
dt dt dt

We know that

 = I …(2)

dL
From (1) and (2)  = .
dt

13. What is the torque of the force F = 2ˆ i − 3ˆ j + 4ˆ k acting at the point about the
( )
r = 3ˆ i − 2ˆ j + 3ˆ k m origin?

Ans.  = r  F

i j k
 = 2 −3 4
3 2 3

( )
 = −17i + 6ˆ j + 13k NM

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14. What is the value of linear velocity if  = 3ˆ i − 4ˆ j + k and r = 5i − 6ˆ j + 6ˆ k ?

Ans. v =   r

( )(
v = 3ˆ i − 4ˆ j + k  5i − 6ˆ j + 6ˆ k )
i j k
t = 3 −4 1
5 −6 6

( )
v = −18i − 13 j + 2ˆ k m / s

15. Find the expression for radius of gyration of a Ansid sphere about one of its
diameters?

2
Ans. M.I. of a Ansid sphere about its diameter = MR 2
5

K = Radius of Gyration

2
I = MK 2 = MR 2
5

2 2
K2 = R
5

2
K= R
5

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16. Prove that the centre of mass of two particles divides the line joining the particles in
the inverse ratio of their masses?

m1 + r1 + m2 r2
Ans. rcm =
m1 + m2

If centre of mass is at the origin

rcm = 0

 m1r1 + m2 r2 = 0

m1r1 = −m2 r2

In terms of magnitude m1 r1 = m2 r2

m1 r2
 =
m2 r1

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