Skip to content

Moment Of Inertia

Mediumphysics

A thin uniform rod of mass M and length L rotates about an axis passing through one of its ends and perpendicular to its length. What is the moment of inertia of the rod about this axis?

Select the correct option:

🔒 Solution Hidden from View

Submit your answer to unlock the detailed step-by-step solution.

More rotational motion Practice Questions

MediumJEE_MAIN

A uniform rod of mass 3 kg and length 2 m is set rotating about an axis perpendicular to the rod and...

View Solution→
EasyJEE_MAIN

What is the moment of inertia of a uniform rod of mass M and length L about an axis perpendicular to...

View Solution→
MediumJEE_MAIN

Four spheres of diameter 2a and mass M are placed with their centres on the four corners of a square...

View Solution→
HardNEET

A thin circular ring of mass M and radius R has a moment of inertia MR² about its central axis perpe...

View Solution→
MediumNEET

A uniform beam of weight 200 N and length 4 m rests horizontally on two supports placed at its two e...

View Solution→
EasyNEET

A point on the rim of a wheel of radius 0.50 m moves while the wheel rotates at a constant angular v...

View Solution→
MediumNEET

A bomb at rest in deep space suddenly explodes into several fragments that fly off in different dire...

View Solution→
MediumNEET

A constant torque of 5 N·m acts on a wheel and turns it through an angular displacement of 8 radians...

View Solution→
MediumNEET

A solid sphere and a thin spherical shell have the same mass and the same radius and rotate about th...

View Solution→
MediumNEET

A child of negligible spin sits on a rotating stool that turns at 2 rad/s with moment of inertia 4 k...

View Solution→
HardNEET

A solid cylinder is released from rest and rolls without slipping down an incline making an angle wh...

View Solution→
HardNEET

A force is applied to a particle whose position vector relative to the origin is given, and the forc...

View Solution→

Browse all rotational motion questions →

About This Question

Subject
physics
Chapter
rotational motion
Topic
moment of inertia
Difficulty
Medium
Year
2025
Tags
moment of inertiaparallel axis theoremuniform rodmass distributionrotational axis

Solution

Correct Answer:

As stated in NCERT Class 11, Chapter 7 (System of Particles and Rotational Motion), moment of inertia measures a body's resistance to angular acceleration and depends on how the mass is distributed relative to the rotation axis. The farther the mass lies from the axis, the larger the moment of inertia, since each mass element contributes in proportion to the square of its distance. For a uniform thin rod rotating about a perpendicular axis through its centre, the standard result is I_centre = ML²/12. To find the moment of inertia about a parallel axis through one end, we apply the parallel axis theorem, I = I_centre + Md², where d = L/2 is the distance between the central axis and the end axis. Substituting gives I = ML²/12 + M(L/2)² = ML²/12 + ML²/4 = ML²/12 + 3ML²/12 = 4ML²/12 = ML²/3. The option ML²/12 is wrong because it is the value about the central axis, not the end. The option ML²/2 overestimates the distribution and is not derived from any valid axis position. The option ML²/6 does not follow from correct application of the parallel axis theorem. A dimensional check confirms the result has units of mass times length squared, consistent with moment of inertia, and the end value is correctly larger than the central value because the mass is, on average, farther from the end axis.

This medium difficulty physics question is from the chapter rotational motion, covering the topic of moment of inertia. It appeared in the 2025 exam.

Looking for more practice? Explore all physics questions or browse rotational motion questions on RankGuru.