System of particles

And
rotational motion

-By Anshul Sharma

content
7.1 Introduction
7.2 Centre of mass
7.3 Motion of centre of mass
7.4 Linear momentum of a system of particles
7.5 Angular momentum and Angular velocity
7.6 Torque and angular momentum
7.7 Equilibrium of a rigid body
7.8 Moment of inertia
7.9 Theorems of perpendicular and parallel axes
7.10 Kinematics of rotational motion about a fixed axis
7.11 Comparison of Translational and Rotational Motion
7.12 Angular momentum in case of rotation about a fixed axis
7.13 Rolling motion
 7.1 INTRODUCTION
An extended body, in the first place, is a
system of particles. We shall begin with the
consideration of motion of the system as a
whole. The centre of mass of a system of
particles will be a key concept here. We shall
discuss the motion of the centre of mass of a
system of particles and usefulness of this
concept in understanding the motion of
extended bodies.
A large class of problems with extended bodies
can be solved by considering them to be rigid
bodies. Ideally a rigid body is a body with
a perfectly definite and unchanging
shape. The distances between different
pairs of such a body do not change. It is
evident from this definition of a rigid body that
7.1.1 What kind of motion can a
rigid body have?
Translational motion Rotational
motion

Translation
+
Rotational motion
 7.2 CENTRE OF MASS
We may define
centre of mass of a
body or a system
of bodies as a
point at which the
entire mass of the
body/system of
bodies, is
supposed to be
concentrated.
7.2.1Centre of Mass of a Two
Particle System
Consider a system of two
particles of mass m1 and
m2 located at A and B
respectively, where
Let C be the position of
centre of mass of the
system of two particles. It
would lie on the line joining
A and B. Let
be the position
 vector of
r,
centre of mass.
 
v1 evaluate
To , v2 suppose
are velocities of
particles m1 and m2
 Respectively at any instant t.
Then
 dr 1  dr 2
v1 = and v2 = ...(1)
 dt dt
f1

Letf 2 = external force applied
on particle of mass m1

F12 = external force applied on

particle of mass m2
F21

= internal force on m1 due to

 
m2 p1 = m1v1 ...( 2)
= internal force on m2 due
to m1
Linear momentum of particle m1
is
which is
  
dp1
∴ = f1 + F12
dt
d   
u sin g ( 2), ( m1 v1 ) = f1 + F12 ...( 3)
dt

Similarly, the equation of motion of second

d
particle may   as
 be written
( m v ) = f +F
2 2 2 ...( 4)
21
dt

d 
d (4), we get   
Adding (3)
 and
( m1 v1 ) + ( m2 v2 ) = f1 + F12 + f 2 + F21
dt dt
 
As F12 = − F21
d     
∴ [( m1 v1 ) +m2 v2 ] = f1 + f 2 = f ...( 5)
dt
 
Where f 1 = total external force on the system
of two particles.
Using (1),we get
 
d  dr1 dr2  
m1 + m2  = f
dt  dt dt 
d d    
or  (m1 r1 + m2 r2 ) = f
dt  dt 
d2 d    
or 2 
(m1 r1 + m2 r2 ) = f
dt  dt 

Multiplying numerator and denominator of left

   
d ( m1 r1 + m2 r2 )
2
( m1 + m2 ) 2 = f ...( 6)
dt ( m1 + m2 )
 
( m1 r1 + m2 r2 ) 
Let us put =r ...( 7)
( m1 + m2 )
d2  
∴ ( m1 + m2 ) 2 (r ) = f ...( 8)
dt

  
m1 +we
From ((7), )r = m1 r1 + m2 r2
m2get ...(9)

Hence position vector of centre of mass of a two

particle system is such that the product of total
mass of the system and position vector of centre
of mass is equal to sum of the products of
masses of the two particles and their respective
7.2.2Centre of Mass of a System
of N Particles

  
 m1 r1 + m2 r2 + ...mn rn
r=
m1 + m2 + ...mn
 7.3 MOTION OF
Equipped with the definition of the centre of
CENTRE
mass, we OF
are now in a position MASS
to discuss its
physical importance for a system of particles. we
know :
second particle etc. and is the
velocity of the centre of mass. Note that we
assumed the masses m1, m2, ... etc. do not
change in time. We have therefore, treated them
as constants in differentiating the equations with
respect to time.
Differentiating Eq.(7.8) with respect to time, we
obtain
Now, from Newton’s second law, the force acting
on the first particle is given by . The
force acting on the second particle is given by
on. Eq. (7.9) may be written
as

Thus, the total mass of a system of particles

times the acceleration of its centre of mass is the
vector sum of all the forces acting on the system
of particles.

(7.11)
7.4 LINEAR MOMENTUM OF A SYSTEM
OF PARTICLES
The linear momentum of an object is
defined as the motion contained in a body
OR the product of the mass and velocity is
known as momentum.

Momentum is a vector quantity and its direction

is the same as that for velocity; And it has
dimension ML/T. In SI system, the momentum
has the units kg m/s.
the Newton’s second law can be written as:
Thus, the total momentum of a system of particles is
equal to the product of the total mass of the system
and the velocity of its centre of mass. Differentiating
Eq. (7.15) with respect to time,
This is the statement of Newton’s second law
extended to a system of particles. Suppose now,
that the sum of external forces acting on a
system of particles is zero. Then from Eq.(7.17)

Thus, when the total external force acting on a

system of particles is zero, the total linear
momentum of the system is constant. This is the
law of conservation of the total linear
momentum of a system of particles.
 
7.5 Angular 
ω
L

Momentum  
l ω
and Angular Velocity
In general, each component of the total
r’
angular momentum depends on all the
components of the angular velocity.

   
L = ∑ ri × m i v i = ∑ i
r × m i (  
ω × ri ) = ∑ i i
m r 2
ω − (  
ri ω) ri ( )
i i i

L x =  − ∑ mi z i x i ω ; L y =  − ∑ mi zi yi ω ;
 i   i 

i
( ) i
(
L z = ∑ mi ri2ω − z i ω ⋅ zi =  ∑ mi ri2 − zi2 ) ω =  ∑ m r'
i
2
i i ω

 7.6 Torque and angular
momentum
Torque , about the reference point O, due to a
force F exerted on a particle, is defined as the
vector product of the position relative to the
reference point and force
In other words Turning effect of force
is known as torque .


r
O 
τ
The angular momentum of a particle, about the
reference point O, is defined as the vector
product of the position, relative to the reference
point, and momentum of the particle
In other words motion contained in a
body while it is moving in circular part is
known as angular momentum.


l 
p

r

O
 7.7 Equilibrium of a
rigid body
F1 F
O A 3

F2

A rigid object is in equilibrium, if and only if the

following conditions are satisfied:

(a) the net external force is a zero vector;

 7.7.1 couple
A pair of equal and opposite forces with
different lines of action is known as a
couple. A couple produces rotation without
translation.
When we open the lid of a bottle by turning
it, our fingers are applying a couple to the lid.
Another known example is a compass needle in
the earth’s magnetic field. The earth’s magnetic
field exerts equal forces on the north and south
poles. The force on the North Pole is towards the
north, and the force on the South Pole is toward
the south. Except when the needle points in the
north-south direction; the two forces do not have
the same line of action. Thus there is a couple
acting on the needle due to the earth’s magnetic
field.
 7.7.2 Principle of moments

An ideal lever is essentially a light rod pivoted at

a point along its length. This point is called the
fulcrum. A see saw on the children’s playground
is a typical example of a lever. Two forces F1 and
F2, parallel to each other and usually
perpendicular to the lever, as shown here, act on
the lever at distances d1 and d2 respectively
from the fulcrum.
 The lever is a system in mechanical equilibrium.
Let R be the reaction of the support at the
fulcrum; R is directed opposite to the forces F1
and F2. For translational equilibrium,

For considering rotational equilibrium we take

the moments about the fulcrum; the sum of
moments must be zero,

Normally the anticlockwise (clockwise) moments

are taken to be positive (negative). Note R acts at
the fulcrum itself and has zero moment about the
fulcrum.
 In the case of the lever force F1 is usually
some weight to be lifted. It is called the load and
its distance from the fulcrum d1 is called the load
arm. Force F2 is the effort applied to lift the load;
distance d2 of the effort from the fulcrum is the
effort arm. Eq. (ii) can be written as

or load arm × load = effort arm × effort The

above equation expresses the principle of
moments for a lever. Incidentally the ratio
is called the Mechanical Advantage (M.A.);

If the effort arm d2 is larger than the load arm,

the mechanical advantage is greater than one.
Mechanical advantage greater than one means
 7.7.3 Centre of gravity
Centre of gravity of the body is defined as the
point where the whole weight of the body were
supposed to act.
The CG of the cardboard is so located that the
total torque on it due to the forces …. etc.
is zero. If is the position vector of the particle of
an extended body with respect to its CG, then the
torque about the CG, due to the force of gravity on
the particle is . The total gravitational
torque about the CG is zero, i.e.

We notice that in above Eq. , g is the same for all

particles, and hence it comes out of the summation.
This gives, since g is nonzero,
Example of Center of
gravity

      ri
τ = ∑ ri × mi g =  ∑ miri  × g =
i i 

    Wi
= Mrcm × g = rcm × Mg

The center of gravity in a uniform gravitational field is at the

center of mass.

Note: Not applicable to a nonuniform gravitational

field

gravitational
torque
 7.8 Moment of inertia
Moment of inertia or rotational inertia of a
body about a given axis of rotation is
defined as the sum of the product of the
masses of the particles and square of the
distances from the axis of rotation.

It is denoted by I and given by;

We now apply the definition Eq. (7.34), to

calculate the moment of inertia in two simple
 Moment of
inertia of a
uniform thin
rod about an end

L 3 L
M M x 1
y
Iy = ∫ x2 dx = ⋅ = ML2
dx 0 L L 3 0
3
x
L

about the center

3 L/2
L/2 M M x 1
Icm = ∫ x 2 dx = ⋅ = ML2
−L / 2 L L 3 −L / 2
12
 Moment of
inertia of a
uniform circle

r
dr

 d

R2
2 M
2
I A = ∫ r dm = ∫ ∫ r ⋅ 2
rdϕdr =
circle πR
00

M R 3  2π  M R4 1 2
= ∫ r  ∫ d ϕ  dr = 2 π ⋅ ⋅ = MR
πR 2 0  0  πR 2 4 2
 Moment of Inertia for
system of particles and a
continuous body
A
system of particles:

IA = ∑ i i
m r '2 r’
ri’
dm
mi
i
continuous body
A
Moments of Inertia of some regular shaped bodies
about specific axes
 7.8.1 radius of gyration
Distance of a point in a body from the axis
of rotation, at which if whole of the mass of
the body were supposed to be concentrated,
its moment of inertia about the axis of
rotation will be same as that determined by
actual distribution of mass of the body is
called radius of gyration.
it is denoted by K.
Notice from the Table 7.1 that in all cases,
we can write , where
k has the dimension of length. For a rod,
about the perpendicular axis at its midpoint,
 7.9 THEOREMS OF
PERPENDICULAR AND
PARALLEL AXES
These are two useful theorems
relating to moment of inertia. We
shall first discuss the theorem of
perpendicular axes and its simple yet
instructive application in working out
the moments of inertia of some
regular-shaped bodies.
 7.9.1 Theorem of
It perpendicular
states that axes
the moment of inertia of a planar
body (lamina) about an axis perpendicular
to its plane is equal to the sum of its
moments of inertia about two perpendicular
axes concurrent with perpendicular axis
and lying in the plane of the body.
 The figure shows a planar body. An axis
perpendicular to the body through a point O is
taken as the z-axis. Two mutually perpendicular
axes lying in the plane of the body and
concurrent with z-axis, i.e. passing through O,
are taken as the x and y-axes. The theorem
states that;

Derivation:
Let us consider a plane lamina lying
in the XOY plane. The lamina is
made up of a large number of
Now PNl= x, PN = y
Moment of inertia about X-axis = my2
Moment of inertia of the whole of lamina about X-axis

Moment of inertia of the whole of lamina about Y-axis

Moment of inertia of the whole of lamina about Z-axis

 7.9.2 Theorem of parallel axes
It states that
The moment of
inertia of a body about
any axis is equal to the
sum of the moment of
inertia of the body about
a parallel axis passing
through its centre of
mass and the product of
its mass and the square
of the distance between
the two parallel axes.
As shown in the Figure, z and z′ are two parallel
axes separated by a distance a. The z-axis passes
through the centre of mass O of the rigid body.
Then according to the theorem of parallel axes;

where and are the moments of inertia of

the body about the z and z′ axes respectively, M
is the total mass of the body and a is the
perpendicular distance between the two parallel
axes.
Derivation:

The Parallel Axis Theorem (from

first year physics) tells us that the
moment of inertia is the sum of
the moment of inertia about the
mass center (Ic) plus the product
of the mass (M) and the square of
the distance (d) from the axis of
rotation to the mass center. 
 
 The same holds for the unknown moments of
inertia , which is about a parallel axis that is a
distance d + x from the mass center: 

I' = Ic + M(d + x)2

Now substitute what we've already found is equal

to Ic:

I' = (I - Md2) + M(d + x)2

  = (I - Md2) + M(d2 + 2dx + x2)

The kinematical quantities in rotational motion,
angular displacement (θ), angular velocity (ω)
7.10 Kinematics of
and angular acceleration (α) respectively
correspond to kinematic quantities in linear
rotational motion about a
motion, displacement (x), velocity (v) and
fixed axis
acceleration (a). We know the kinematical
equations of linear motion with uniform (i.e.
constant) acceleration:
 where initial displacement and initial velocity.
The word ‘initial’ refers to values of the quantities at t =
0.
The corresponding kinematic equations for
rotational motion with uniform angular acceleration are:

where initial angular displacement of the

rotating body, and initial angular velocity of the body.
 7.11Comparison of
Translational and Rotational
Motion
 7.13 rolling motion
In order to bring out characterizing aspects of
rolling motion, we consider a disk, which is
rolling without sliding (simply referred as rolling)
smoothly on a horizontal surface such that its
center of mass translates with a velocity "vC" in
x-direction.

Rolling without sliding:

“Rolling without sliding” means that the point on
the rim in contact with the surface changes
continuously as the disk rotates while translating
ahead. If point "A" is in contact at a given time
"t", then another neighboring point "B" takes up
the position immediately after, say, at a time
instant, t+dt. In case the disk slides while
The terms “Rolling without sliding”, "pure rolling"
or simply "rolling" refer to same composite
motion along a straight line.
 7.13.1Rolling motion as a
combined
Rolling motion:
is considered as the combination of pure
rotation and pure translation.

Pure rotational
For pure rotation, we consider
that the rotating disk rotates
about a fixed axis with angular
velocity, "ω" such that :

⇒ ω = vC /R
 ⇒ v = vC = ωR
However, if we consider a particle
inside the disk at radial distance
"r", then its linear velocity
resulting from pure rotation is
given by :
⇒ v = ωr
Substituting value of ω from
earlier equation, we can obtain
the velocity of a particle inside
the rotating disk as :
v = (vC r)/R
(2)
where "r" is the linear distance of
the position occupied by the
particle from the axis of rotation.
 Pure translation

For pure translation, we consider that the

rotating disk is not rotating at all. Each
particle of the disk is translating with
linear velocity that of center of mass, "
vC". Unlike the case of pure rotation,
each of the particle - whether situating
on the rim or within the disk - is moving
with same velocity. In the figure, we have
shown the linear velocities of particles
with appropriate vectors, occupying four
positions on the rim.
 7.13.2Kinetic energy of
rolling disk
We can determine kinetic energy of the rolling
disk, considering it to be the combination of pure
rotation and pure translation. Mathematically,

K=KR+KT

K = 1/2 ICω2 + 1/2 MvC2

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