A flywheel has a moment of inertia I and is rotating with an angular velocity ω.

A flywheel has a moment of inertia I and is rotating with an angular velocity ω. If a torque τ is applied, what is the angular acceleration? (2021)

A flywheel has a moment of inertia I and is rotating with an angular velocity ω. If a torque τ is applied, what is the angular acceleration? (2021)

Step 1: Understand that a flywheel is a rotating object and has a property called moment of inertia (I) which measures how difficult it is to change its rotation.
Step 2: Know that angular velocity (ω) is how fast the flywheel is spinning.
Step 3: Recognize that when a torque (τ) is applied to the flywheel, it causes the flywheel to accelerate in its rotation.
Step 4: Recall Newton's second law for rotation, which states that the torque (τ) is equal to the moment of inertia (I) multiplied by the angular acceleration (α). This can be written as τ = Iα.
Step 5: To find the angular acceleration (α), rearrange the equation to solve for α: α = τ/I.
Step 6: Now you have the formula to calculate the angular acceleration when you know the torque and the moment of inertia.

Torque and Angular Acceleration – The relationship between torque, moment of inertia, and angular acceleration is defined by Newton's second law for rotation, which states that the torque applied to an object is equal to the moment of inertia multiplied by the angular acceleration.