Rolling Bodies Demo


Equipment: (These are kept in the IPL equimpment room: see Shawn Vinyard)

The hoop and the disk have the same diameter and the same mass (which you can show with the balance scale). The hoop will accelerate more slowly because it has a larger rotational inertia. This is demostrated by rolling the disk and the hoop side-by-side simultaneously down the plank. The disk should finish first.

If you want to get quantitative, the hoop can be approximated as having all of its mass at the outer edge. Then the ratio of moments is just MR**2:(1/2 MR**2) = 2:1.