AP Physics 1 5.6: Angular Acceleration
Relate changes in angular velocity to net torque and rotational inertia, using the rotational form of Newton’s second law.
- Syllabus
- Effective Fall 2025
- Course
- AP Physics 1: Algebra-Based
Relate changes in angular velocity to net torque and rotational inertia, using the rotational form of Newton’s second law.
(12 points, suggested time 25 minutes)
The left end of a uniform beam of mass M and length L is attached to a wall by a hinge, as shown in Figure 1. One end of a string with negligible mass is attached to the right end of the beam. The other end of the string is attached to the wall above the hinge at Point 1. The beam remains horizontal. The hinge exerts a force on the beam of magnitude FH, and the angle between the beam and the string is θ=θ1.
The string is cut, and the beam begins to rotate about the hinge with negligible friction. On the following axes, sketch the angular speed of the beam as a function of time for the time interval while the beam falls but before the beam becomes vertical.


For drawing a graph that is monotonically increasing
1 point
For drawing a concave down curve
1 point
Example Response

Total for part (e) for question 312 points