IB skill practice

Use torque, angular acceleration, and moment of inertia

Paper 1, Paper 2 5 marks Difficulty 5

Point mass moment of inertia

A \(2\,\text{kg}\) point mass in a spacecraft docking simulation rotates at radius \(0.55\,\text{m}\). Calculate its moment of inertia. Read the diagram before calculating the requested value. Enter the numerical result and choose the interpretation that matches the physics meaning.

Worked practice: physics data and result

Read the physical quantities first, then calculate the result and state what it means.