How Do You Calculate the Moment of Inertia for a Cone?

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Homework Help Overview

The discussion revolves around calculating the moment of inertia for a right circular homogeneous solid cone using integration. The original poster presents their approach and calculations, including relevant equations and their derived expressions.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Mathematical reasoning, Assumption checking

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • Participants explore the integration method for determining the moment of inertia, with one participant questioning a specific coefficient in the integration process. Another participant suggests a different approach by considering a disc element of the cone and its moment of inertia.

Discussion Status

The discussion is active, with participants providing insights and alternative perspectives on the calculations. Some guidance has been offered regarding the setup of the problem, and there is an acknowledgment of potential errors in the original poster's calculations.

Contextual Notes

Participants are working under the constraints of a homework problem, which may limit the information available for resolving the issue completely. The original poster's calculations and assumptions are under scrutiny, and there is a focus on understanding the integration process involved.

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Homework Statement


Use integration to determine the moment of inertia of a right circular homogeneous solid cone of height H, base radius R, and mass density [tex]\rho[/tex] about its symmetry axis

Homework Equations


Volume of cone = [tex]1/3*pi*r^2*h[/tex]
I = [tex]\int r^2 dm[/tex]
[tex]\rho = m/v[/tex]

The Attempt at a Solution


[tex]m=\rho v[/tex]
[tex]m=1/3 \rho \pi r^2 h[/tex]
[tex]dm=2/3 \rho \pi r h dr[/tex]

[tex]\rho = m/v[/tex]
[tex]\rho = \frac{m}{(1/3 \pi r^2 h)}[/tex]

[tex]I=\int r^2 dm[/tex]
[tex]I=\int \rho \frac{2}{3} \pi r^3 h dr[/tex]
[tex]I = \frac{1}{6} \rho \pi r^4 h dr[/tex]
(now substituting rho out)
[tex]I = \frac{m \pi r^4 h}{2 \pi r^2 h}[/tex]
MY ANSWER: [tex]I = \frac{mr^2}{2}[/tex]
CORRECT ANSWER: [tex]\frac{3mr^2}{10}[/tex]

I can't figure out where my error is
 
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Not completely sure, and i didn't look too intensely, but shouldn't the [tex]\frac{2}{3}[/tex] in [tex]I=\int\rho\frac{2}{3}\pi r^{3}hdr[/tex] be [tex]\frac{1}{3}[/tex]? Once again, I could be wrong.
 
Consider a disc ofmass m, radius r,thickness dh at a distance h from the vertex of the cone.
Its moment of inertia about the axis of symmetry is 1/2*m*r^2.----(1)
Volume of the disc = π*r^2*dh
Density of the cone ρ= M/(1/3*πR^2*H) = 3M/π*R^2*H
There mass of disc m = (3M/π*R^2*H)* π*r^2*dh -------(2)
From the simple geometry it can be shown that
h/H = r/R or dh/H = dr/R or dh = (H/R)*dr
Substitute the value of dh in eq(2) and substitute the value of m in eq.(1).
Now find the integration between the limits r = o to r = R.
 
Thanks! That explains it
 

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