In tensorial form, these equations can be written as “I omega-dot plus omega cross the quantity I times omega” equals tau. For 10 points each:
[10h] Name these equations that relate the three principal moments of inertia to components of the angular velocity, angular acceleration, and torque vectors.
ANSWER: Euler (“OY-ler”) equations [or Euler’s equations; reject “Euler-Lagrange equations”]
[10e] The Euler equations can be derived from the fact that torque equals the time derivative of this quantity. Physics teachers often tilt a spinning bicycle wheel to demonstrate the conservation of this quantity.
ANSWER: angular momentum [prompt on L; reject “momentum”]
[10m] The bicycle wheel in the demonstration acts like one of these devices that contain a rotor spinning in a constant direction. Gravity can exert an external torque on these devices, causing them to precess.
ANSWER: gyroscopes [accept gyroscopic precession; prompt on tops by asking, “what devices do they behave like?”]
<Editors, Physics>