Warm-Up Exercise 8

Due 8:00 am, Wednesday, May 21

Physics 105, Spring Term, 2008

Two people sit on two ends of a seesaw. They sit in positions such that the seesaw is balanced in a horizontal position. When one person leans toward the center of the seesaw, that person's end of the seesaw will
fall,
rise, or
stay at the same level.

If the net torque on an object is zero, its
angular speed or
angular acceleration
is zero.

About which axis will the moment of inertia of a person be smallest?
vertical axis that passes from head to toe
horizontal axis that passes through the stomach and spinal cord

In your own words, explain what moment of inertia is. I don't want equations. I just want a short conceptual explanation.