A child on a merry-go-round moves from the edge to the center. What happens to t

A child on a merry-go-round moves from the edge to the center. What happens to the angular momentum of the system?

A child on a merry-go-round moves from the edge to the center. What happens to the angular momentum of the system?

Step 1: Understand what angular momentum is. It is a measure of how much motion an object has when it is rotating.
Step 2: Recognize that the child is moving from the edge of the merry-go-round to the center.
Step 3: Note that there are no outside forces (external torques) acting on the merry-go-round system.
Step 4: Remember the principle of conservation of angular momentum, which states that if no external torques act on a system, its total angular momentum remains constant.
Step 5: Conclude that as the child moves to the center, the angular momentum of the system does not change.

Angular Momentum Conservation – Angular momentum of a system is conserved in the absence of external torques, meaning it remains constant even if the distribution of mass changes.
Effect of Radius on Angular Momentum – As the child moves from the edge to the center, the moment of inertia decreases, but the angular velocity must increase to keep angular momentum constant.