Finding Moment of Interia of a 'Loop' when given Density & Cross sectional area

AI Thread Summary
To find the moment of inertia of a circular loop made from copper wire, the mass must first be determined using the density and cross-sectional area. The volume of the loop can be approximated by treating it as a cylinder bent into a circle, allowing for the calculation of mass. Once the mass is obtained, the moment of inertia can be calculated using the formula I = MR². The integration approach is unnecessary since the loop's geometry simplifies the calculation. Ultimately, the focus should be on finding the mass before applying the moment of inertia formula.
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Homework Statement



I eventually have to solve for maximum angular acceleration of the loop in a magnetic field, and I have gotten everything with the exception of the moment of inertia, so I won't include the emf and B known variables.
Known: a copper wire with a density of \rho = 8960 kg/m3 is formed into a circular loop of radius 0.50 m. Cross sectional area of the wire is 1.00 x 10-5m2.


Homework Equations


I=MR2
(and eventually) \tau = \alphaI



The Attempt at a Solution


I know since mass isn't given, I need to integrate something so I can use the density. However, it's been a really long time since I've integrated, so I'm not very familar with it. I've been unable to find an equation to find the volume of the 'loop,' so I know integration is the only way.
 
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No integration required. A loop is just a cylinder bent into a circle. Imagine bending the loop back into a "normal" cylinder, and find the volume of that object. (If you don't remember the formula for the volume if a cylinder, it is easy to find).
 


You can approximate the loop as a circle (line) because the cross section is much smaller than the radius.
 


Yes, I forgot to add that part. But first, OP needs to find the mass, which requires finding the volume.

Once that is done you would forget about the finite width and simply use I = MR2
 
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