Rotational Inertia and Torque for a Spinning Frisbee

AI Thread Summary
The discussion focuses on calculating the rotational inertia and torque of a Frisbee with a mass of 120g and a diameter of 28cm. The first part involves determining the rotational inertia using the formula for a disk and rim, leading to a corrected value of 0.001764 kg/m². The second part addresses the challenge of finding the torque, which requires calculating the angular acceleration as the Frisbee accelerates from rest to 560 rpm over a quarter turn. Participants emphasize the importance of converting angles to radians and using appropriate kinematic equations for the calculations. Accurate calculations and understanding of the concepts are crucial for solving the problem effectively.
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Homework Statement


A 120g Frisbee is 28cm in diameter and has about half its mass spread uniformly in a disk, and the other half concentrated in the rim. With a quarter-turn flick of the wrist, a student sets the Frisbee rotating at 560rpm.

(a) What is the rotational inertia of the Frisbee?

(b) What is the magnitude of the torque, assumed constant, that the student applies?

Homework Equations


I=1/2*m*r2

I=m*r2

\tau=I\alpha

The Attempt at a Solution



I got the first part of this by using I=1/2*.60kg*.14m2 for the disk then adding I=.60kg*.14m2 for the rim which gives me 0.001764kg/m2
The part that is messing me up is finding the torque, I think the best way to find the torque is to find the angular acceleration of the frisbee, but I havn't been able to get it. I am pretty sure I need to use the rotational/kinematic equations... Any help would be great.
 
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Welcome to PF.

First of all maybe recalculate your I ?
 
So long as you convert angles to radians and ω to radians/sec then you can use the kinematic analogs to motion:

http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/mi.html#rlin

You are accelerating the frisbee from rest to 560 rpm over 1/4 a turn (according to the problem anyway).
 
Thanks LowlyPion, I didn't realize it was only a quarter turn.
 
Be sure and correct your moment of Inertia calculation.

3/2(.60)(.14)2 is not .00176

Edit: Wait. I see it should have been .06 kg not as you wrote it. Your answer for I is correct making that change.
 
Last edited:
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