What happens to the moment of inertia of a rigid body if it is rotated about an
Practice Questions
Q1
What happens to the moment of inertia of a rigid body if it is rotated about an axis that is not its principal axis?
It increases
It decreases
It remains the same
It becomes zero
Questions & Step-by-Step Solutions
What happens to the moment of inertia of a rigid body if it is rotated about an axis that is not its principal axis?
Step 1: Understand what moment of inertia is. It is a measure of how difficult it is to change the rotation of an object.
Step 2: Identify what a principal axis is. A principal axis is an axis about which the moment of inertia is calculated and is usually aligned with the object's symmetry.
Step 3: Recognize that when an object rotates about a principal axis, its mass is distributed evenly relative to that axis.
Step 4: When the object rotates about a different axis (not a principal axis), the distribution of mass changes relative to this new axis.
Step 5: Understand that this change in mass distribution affects the moment of inertia, making it different from the moment of inertia calculated about the principal axis.
