Project description
Lab: Rotational Motion

Falling Disc

Go to the following video on Direct Measurement Videos and run the video.

http://serc.carleton.edu/dmvideos/players/falling_disk.html?hide_banner=true

Task:

1. Explain what is going on with the disc during its motion using energy concepts and the law of energy conservation.
2. Determine the linear acceleration and the angular acceleration of the disc as it falls.
3. Find the rotational inertia (moment of inertia) of the disc a) using the energy conservation and b) using the standard value for rotational inertia for a disc (1/2 M R2).
4. What assumptions did you make during the experiment and what errors led to the uncertainty in the final value of the moment of inertia?

Please include data from the video attached and an organized table including all the data.