Question

Estimate the moment of inertia of a bicycle wheel 66 cm in diameter. The rim and tire have a combined mass of 1.2 Kg

Answer 1

For a point mass the moment of inertia is just the mass times the square of perpendicular distance to the rotation axis, I = mr^2. That point mass relationship becomes the basis for all other moments of inertia since any object can be built up from a collection of point masses. So the I = (1.2 kg)(0.66m/2)^2 = 0.1307 kg m2