Lesson Plan: The Conservation of Angular Momentum Physics
This lesson plan includes the objectives, prerequisites, and exclusions of the lesson teaching students how to calculate the kinematic properties of an object, where the angular momentum of the object is conserved.
Objectives
Students will be able to
- understand that angular momentum is conserved in closed systems,
- calculate the resulting angular momentum of an object that experiences a torque as a reaction to another object in the system experiencing a torque in the other direction,
- use to calculate the angular velocity of an object that has accelerated due to a reaction torque,
- realize that the moment of inertia of an object determines the extent to which it is accelerated as a result of a reaction torque and that this is why even though Earth spins under us as we move across it, we do not notice it,
- understand that angular momentum is conserved in orbital systems.
Prerequisites
Students should already be familiar with
- what angular momentum is,
- what a torque is,
- calculating the angular momentum of an object given its moment of inertia and its angular velocity,
- calculating the angular momentum of an object given its linear momentum along a tangent to a circle and the radius of the circle,
- circular and elliptical orbits,
- orbital mechanics for circular orbits.
Exclusions
Students will not cover
- precession,
- torques that are not aligned to the axis of rotation of an already-rotating system.
