Data Sheet

WHAT’S HAPPENING
The gyroscope stays spinning due to conservation
of its angular momentum. But as it spins, the
gyroscope’s momentum is transferred to other
parts of the model, which is what causes the
model to move. The gyroscope eventually stops
spinning.
Just like linear momentum, angular momentum
is a product of an object’s mass and speed. But
when calculating angular momentum, the speed
of the object’s rotation around its axis as well as
how the mass is distributed relative to its axis
of rotation must be considered. These factors
have important effects as you will discover in
the next experiment.
HERE’S HOW
1
to
7
Assemble the model.
8
Insert the rip cord into the slot
in the gyroscope. Hold the base
of the model and pull the rip
cord. What do you observe?
5
6
7

Gyroscopes & Flywheels
EXPERIMENT 17