Online reading assignment: rotational dynamics

Physics 205A, fall semester 2012
Cuesta College, San Luis Obispo, CA

Students have a weekly online reading assignment (hosted by SurveyMonkey.com), where they answer questions based on reading their textbook, material covered in previous lectures, opinion questions, and/or asking (anonymous) questions or making (anonymous) comments. Full credit is given for completing the online reading assignment before next week's lecture, regardless if whether their answers are correct/incorrect. Selected results/questions/comments are addressed by the instructor at the start of the following lecture.

The following questions were asked on reading textbook chapters and previewing a presentation on rotational dynamics.

Selected/edited responses are given below.

Describe something you found interesting from the assigned textbook reading or presentation preview, and explain why this was personally interesting for you.

"There are different types of kinetic energy--translational and rotational. I assumed there was only one but I can see that we are going into more details."

"Depending on the distance in which a rotational axis is located, even with equal mass, the rotational energy can be greater due to a higher rotational inertia."

"Why choking up on a bat can give somebody more control over the swing. This is because the bat has a smaller rotational inertia."

Describe something you found confusing from the assigned textbook reading or presentation preview, and explain why this was personally confusing for you.

"How two objects of the same mass rolling at the same speed do not necessarily have the same kinetic energy."

"The door with the hinges set in two different sides to rotate. Since the area of the door is the same it would seem that it would have the same rotational inertia."

"The equations for rotational inertia are especially complicated."

Ask the instructor an anonymous question, or make a comment. Selected questions/comments may be discussed in class.

"I really like how the lectures are formatted with plenty of explanations and problem solving. I am really understanding the material. Good job!!!"

I cannot think of an instant where an object only has rotational energy and not translational." (Think of something that is spinning in place.)

"This is something I do not know much about, could we have a conceptual approach before just leaping into a formulaic approach." (These two approaches will go pretty much hand-in-hand.)