H.R.H The P.O.W.I.E.T.

Department of PHYSICS Himanshu Sharma Pathok

Title of the chapter: BASIC MECHANICS

EXTENDED BODIES: A body whose mass is distributed in space is called an extended body.
CENTRE OF MASS: The centre of mass of a body (or system of particles) is defined as a point at
which the entire mass of the body is supposed to be concentrated.
RIGID BODY: A perfectly rigid body is defined as that body which does not undergo any change in
shape and volume when external forces are applied on it.
Some definition regarding the rotational motion:
ANGULAR DISPLACEMENT: Angular displacement of rigid body rotating about any axis is the
angle described by the position vector about the axis of rotation.
ANGULAR VELOCITY: The angular displacement per unit time is defined as the angular velocity
of a rotational motion. It is represented by , 𝜔 =

Its unit is radian/second = rad s-1 and dimensional formula [M0L0T-1]

Its unit is radian/second2 = rad s-2 and dimensional formula is [M0L0T-1]

Linear motion Rotational motion

(𝑢 + 𝑣) (𝜔 + 𝜔 )
𝑠= 𝑡 𝜃= 𝑡
2 2
𝑢−𝑣 𝜔 −𝜔
𝑎= 𝛼=
𝑡 𝑡

1 1
𝑆 = 𝑢𝑡 + 𝑎𝑡 𝜃 = 𝜔 𝑡 + 𝛼𝑡
2 2

𝑣 = 𝑢 + 2𝑎𝑠 𝜔 =𝜔 + 2𝛼𝜃

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H.R.H The P.O.W.I.E.T. Department of PHYSICS Himanshu Sharma Pathok

MOMENT OF INERTIA: The property of a rotating body due to which the rotating body tend to
resist its motion may be called as moment of inertia.
EXPRESSION OF MOMENT OF INERTIA (I):
The moment of inertia of a body rotating about a given axis is the sum of the product of masses of all
the consisting particles of the body and square of their respective perpendicular distances from the
axis of rotation.
Consider a rigid body of mass M rotating about a fixed axis AB with constant angular speed. Let the
body may built up of numbers of particles m1, m2, m3, …..,mn. Let distances of these particles from
the axis of rotation AB be r1, r2, r3,………., rn.

Now, moment of inertia of the body about the axis AB is given by

Or 𝐼 = ∑ 𝑚 𝑟 = ∑ 𝑚𝑟 = 𝑀𝐾
Where,
M = m1+m2+m3+………….+mn

If the whole mass of the body considered to be concentrated at its centre and the distance of this point
from the axis of rotation K is called radius of gyration.
The SI unit of radius of gyration is meter and dimensional formula is [M0LT0]
Unit and dimension of moment of inertia:
Moment of inertia of a body about any given axis can be written as
I = MK2
The unit of moment of inertia is kg m2
The dimensional formula of moment of inertia is [ML2T0]
TORQUE AND MOMENT OF INERTIA:
Torque is the sum of the moment of force acting on different particles of the body, about the axis of
rotation.
Consider a rigid body rotating about a given axis with a uniform angular acceleration 𝛼, under the
action od force. Let body consisting of particles m1, m2, m3, ………, mn at perpendicular distances r1,
r2, r3,…………..,rn respectively from the axis of rotation.
As the body is rigid, angular acceleration of all different distances of the particles from the
the particles of the body is same. However axis.
linear acceleration are different because of

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H.R.H The P.O.W.I.E.T. Department of PHYSICS Himanshu Sharma Pathok

If a1, a2, a3, ……………,an are the linear accelerations of the particles, then 𝑎 = 𝑟 𝛼, 𝑎 = 𝑟 𝛼 ,
𝑎 = 𝑟 𝛼,…………………., 𝑎 = 𝑟 𝛼.
If f1, f2, f3, ………….,fn are the forces acting on the particles m1, m2, m3, ……..,mn , then we may
write f1 = m1a1 = m1r1𝛼
Now moment of force about the axis of rotation will be,

𝑓 ×𝑟 = 𝑚 𝑟 𝛼×𝑟 = 𝑚 𝑟 𝛼
Similarly moment of force on other particles about the axis of rotation will be
𝑚 𝑟 𝛼, 𝑚 𝑟 𝛼, … … … , 𝑚 𝑟 𝛼.
Now by definition, torque acting on the axis on the body will be

𝜏 = 𝑚 𝑟 𝛼 + 𝑚 𝑟 𝛼 + 𝑚 𝑟 𝛼 + ⋯ … … . +𝑚 𝑟 𝛼

= (𝑚 𝑟 + 𝑚 𝑟 + 𝑚 𝑟 + ⋯ … . . +𝑚 𝑟 ) 𝛼

= 𝑚𝑟 𝛼

= 𝐼𝛼 … … … … … … … … … … . . (1)

Where, 𝐼 = ∑ 𝑚 𝑟 , the moment of inertia of the body about the given axis.
This equation (1) gives the relation between torque, angular acceleration and moment of inertia of the
body is called fundamental equation of rotational motion.
In vector form:
𝜏⃗ = 𝐼𝛼⃗
Hence torque is a vector quantity and its dimensional formula is [ML2T-2]

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H.R.H The P.O.W.I.E.T. Department of PHYSICS Himanshu Sharma Pathok

Exercise 2.5
1. Define rotational motion of an object.
2. What do you mean by the centre of mass of an object?
3. Define moment of inertia.
4. Fine the relation between angular velocity and moment of inertia of a rotational body.
5. Fill in the blanks
a. Torque is the product of ____________× perpendicular distance
b. Moment of force is basically represented the ___________ of the object.
c. The dimensional formula of moment of inertia is ______________.
d. The dimensional formula of moment of force is ___________________.
e. SI unit of radius of gyration is __________________.

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