Moment of inertia of a solid of rotation

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Homework Help Overview

The problem involves calculating the moment of inertia of a solid of rotation formed by rotating the area bounded by the curve x^3 + y^3 = 8 around the y-axis. Participants are discussing the appropriate integral representation for this calculation.

Discussion Character

  • Mixed

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • The original poster attempts to derive the moment of inertia using an integral involving x and y, but expresses uncertainty about its correctness. Other participants suggest using cylindrical shells and question the original poster's approach, indicating a need for clarification on the integration method.

Discussion Status

Participants are actively engaging with the problem, offering alternative methods and questioning the assumptions made in the original poster's calculations. Some guidance has been provided regarding the use of cylindrical shells, but there is no explicit consensus on the correct approach yet.

Contextual Notes

There are discussions regarding the definitions and formulas for moment of inertia, as well as the need to account for mass correctly in the calculations. The participants are also addressing potential errors in the original poster's reasoning.

Grand
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Homework Statement


The first quadrant area bounded by the curve
x^3+y^3=8
is rotated around y-axis to give a solid of rotation. The question asks for an integral which represents the solid's moment of inertia around the axis.

My answer is:

I_y=M\frac{\int_0^2x^2ydx}{\int_0^2x^2dx}

but seems like I'm wrong. Could someone help me out, please?
 
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Last edited by a moderator:
The Moment of Inertial of a cylindrical shell of mass, m, and radius, R, is: m(R2).
 
We need to integrate over the height, that is from 0 to 2, and for each y we need to account for a disk of radius
x=\sqrt[3]{(8-y^3)}
which moment of inertia is:
dI=\rho x^2 dy=\rho (8-y^3)^{2/3}dy
For the whole body this is:
I=\int_0^2\rho (8-y^3)^{2/3} dy
I=\frac{m}{V}\int_0^2 (8-y^3)^{2/3} dy

I think this is wrong.
 
The Moment of Inertial of a disk of mass, m, and radius, R, is: (½)m(R2).

However, I think it would be better to use cylindrical shells as tiny-tim recommended.

The last integral you give, \displaystyle \int_0^2 (8-y^3)^{2/3} dy , gives the volume of your solid of revolution.
 
Last edited:
Hi Grand! :smile:
Grand said:
We need to integrate over the height, that is from 0 to 2, and for each y we need to account for a disk of radius
x=\sqrt[3]{(8-y^3)}
which moment of inertia is:
dI=\rho x^2 dy=\rho (8-y^3)^{2/3}dy

This is wrong for two reasons:

i] the moment of inertia of a disc is 1/2 mr2, not mr2

ii] you can't just use ρ instead of m … you need m for the whole disc, which is ρr2dy, so the whole formula for moment of inertia of the disc is 1/2 ρr4dy

But why are you making things so difficult for yourself? As SammyS :smile: says, cylindrical shells would be much easier.

Try again. :smile:
 

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