SECTION 7.

Torque and Simple

Machines
KEY TERMS
torque
Rotational Motion lever arm
You throw a football. Its path is a parabola. The ball spins as it
traces this parabola. The point on a projectile that follows the
parabolic path is its center of mass. This is the point around
Critical Thinking
which its mass is balanced. The object will balance if you place
a finger under this point. The ball is uniform and symmetrical. 1. Draw Conclusions A gymnast
spins as she launches off the high
Its center of mass is in the middle of the ball. Its rotation is bar. What part of her body traces a
along an axis through its center of mass. parabola? The top of her head? A
point near her middle? The bottom
of her feet?
Rotational and translational motion can be separated.

A thrown baseball or football spins and follows a parabola.

Earth spins on its axis and follows an orbit around the sun.
The rotational motion of an object and the path followed by
its center of mass can be studied separately. Critical Thinking
2. Relating Ideas Consider a year
The Magnitude of a Torque and a day. Which refers to the time
Suppose you spin the football on the ground. The ability of a for an object to rotate around its
force to rotate an object around an axis is measured by torque. own axis? Which refers to the time
for the center of mass to complete
an orbit?
Torque depends on the force and the lever arm.

Picture yourself pushing on a heavy door to open it. Do you

push close to the hinges? At the middle of the door? At a
point far from the hinges?
How easily an object rotates depends on both the force
applied and where it is applied. The farther the force is from d
the axis of rotation, the easier it is to rotate the object. axis of
rotation
Suppose you want to increase the torque on an object. You
F
can increase the torque by increasing the force you apply. You
can also increase the distance from the axis of rotation at
which you apply the force. The perpendicular distance from The axis of rotation is the hinged
side of the door. The force F that
the axis of rotation to the line of action of the force is the
causes the door to rotate is applied a
lever arm. distance d away from this axis.

148 CHAPTER 7
 The lever arm depends on the angle.

The force does not have to be perpendicular to a lever to

cause it to rotate. Only the part of the force in the direction of
motion contributes to torque. Suppose the angle between the
force and the lever is 90°. All the effort goes into torque. If the
force and lever are parallel, it won’t rotate.

(a) (b) (c)

d d d
d d d F F F
F d d
F F d F F F

Look at the pictures above. A cat pushes on a cat door. The

When θ = 0°, the force is all
force is always to the left and always the same magnitude.
PHYSICS It is
PHYSICS
PHYSICS
perpendicular to the door and
Spec. Number
Spec.Spec.
Number
PH Number
99 PH
PE C08-001-006-A
99PHPE99
C08-001-006-A
PE C08-001-006-A
exerted at a distance d from the hinge. The line of force is Boston
BostonBoston
Graphics,
Graphics,
Inc.
Graphics,
Inc. Inc.
all of it goes into torque. As the
perpendicular to the lever in the first picture. All of 617.523.1333
the617.523.1333
cat’s
617.523.1333 door swings upward, the angle
between the force and the door
force goes into moving the door. The door swings upward in decreases. The component of the
the second picture. Some of this force is directed parallel to force perpendicular to the door also
the door. It does not cause the door to move. The door is decreases. When θ = 0°, the force is all
parallel to the door. The door no
horizontal and parallel to the force in the third picture. None longer moves.
of the force is perpendicular. The door would not rotate any
farther.
F
The amount of torque depends on the sine of the angle θ
between the lever and the direction of the force on the lever.

torque = force • lever arm d

torque = force • distance from axis to line of force • sin θ

τ = Fd sin θ
The symbol for torque is τ. When the force is perpendicular to
the lever, this reduces to τ = Fd. Look at the picture on the d sin
right. Suppose the force on the tool is always straight up. All
The distance from the axis of
of this force goes into turning the tool when it is horizontal. rotation to the line of force is d. The
None of this force goes into turning the tool when it is vertical. perpendicular distance from the axis
of rotation to the line of force is d
The Sign of a Torque sin θ.

Torque is a vector quantity. Rotation counterclockwise is

positive. Rotation clockwise is negative.Your calculations will

C I R C U L A R M O T I O N A N D G R AV I TAT I O N 149
come out correctly if you choose one frame of reference to
view all the motion. TIP
Sometimes two or more forces act on an object. You can  isualize which direction the force
V
would cause the object to rotate.
compute the torque for each one. Then add them together. Then you can determine the sign.
You should also consider the sign of d. Suppose one force is
applied to the left of the axis. Another force is applied to the TIP
right of the axis. One d should be negative and one positive. A
 lacing the origin at the point of
P
simple check is to determine if the forces will spin the object rotation is usually a good frame of
in the same direction or in opposite directions. reference.

SAMPLE PROBLEM
A player pushes upward along one side of a basketball with 15 N
of force. This line of force is a perpendicular distance of 14 cm
from the axis of rotation. A second player applies a downward
force of 11 N. This second line of force is a perpendicular distance
of 7 cm from the center of the ball. Find the net torque on the ball.

SOLUTION

1 ANALYZE Determine what information is given and unknown.

Use + for upward force and - for downward force.
Use + for displacement right of the axis and - for
displacement left.
Given: F1 = +15 N d1 = –14 cm F2 = –11 N d2 = +7 cm
Unknown: τnet = ?

2 PLAN Draw a diagram of the situation.

We have assumed that the first player is on the
left. Our idea of which player is left and right
F2 = 11 N
would be the opposite if viewed from the d1 = 0.14 m
opposite side. So would which way the ball
appeared to spin. We just need to choose one
frame and stay in it.
Note that the distances d are given such that F1 = 15 N d2 = 0.070 m
sin θ is accounted for. You are given the lever
arm but not the distance and an angle.
Note that F1 will spin the ball clockwise and F1d1 will be
HRW • Holt Physics
negative. F2 will spin the ball clockwise and F2d2 is negative. So
PH99PE-C08-001-011-A
the signs are consistent.

150 CHAPTER 7
 SAMPLE PROBLEM (continued)

3 SOLVE Use τ = Fd. Convert d to meters.

τnet = τ1 + τ2 = F1d1 + F2d2
τnet = (15 N)(–0.14 m) + (–11 N)(0.07 m)
τnet = –2.9 N•m

4 CHECK Both torques are negative. The net torque is also negative.
YOUR
WORK

PRACTICE

A. Findthe magnitude of the torque produced by a 3.0 N force. The

force is applied to a door at a perpendicular distance of 0.25 m from
the hinge.

B. The torque required to loosen a nut on the wheel of a car is

40.0 N•m. A mechanic has a 30.0 cm wrench. What minimum force
must he apply perpendicular to the wrench to loosen the bolt?

Types of Simple Machines

A machine in the physics sense is any device that transmits
or modifies force. Examples include many familiar tools.
Think of a hammer or a screwdriver or scissors. Machines are
combinations of the six simple machines.

C i r c u l a r M o t i o n a n d G r av i tat i o n 151
 Six Simple Machines
Lever Inclined Plane Wheel and Axle

Wheel Wheel
Inclined plane Wheel
Inclined planeplane
Inclined Wheel Axle
Axle Axle
Lever Wheel Wheel
LeverLever Inclined plane
Inclined Inclined
plane plane Axle
Axle Axle
Lever
Lever Lever

FulcrumFulcrum
Fulcrum
Fulcrum
FulcrumFulcrum

Wedge Pulleys Screw

Screw Screw
Screw
Screw
Screw Screw
Wedge Wedge
Wedge
Wedge
Wedge Wedge Pulleys Pulleys
Pulleys
Pulleys
Pulleys Pulleys

A simple machine changes the direction or magnitude of

an input force. For example, consider the illustrated lever. The
weight on the right pushes down. This raises the left end of the
lever, which can do work with the force it exerts.

TIP
Using simple machines
This equation applies when there is
The torque put into a simple machine will equal the torque no energy lost to friction. The work
output is less than the work input
put out by the machine. when energy is lost to friction.
τin = τout
Findin = Foutdout

Spec#Spec#
A large force and small displacement
Spec#onPH99PEPH99PE
one side can result
PH99PE C08-004-001-A
C08-004-001-A
C08-004-001-A
Spec#
Spec#
in a small force and a large displacement on PH99PE
Spec#
PH99PE
the PH99PE
other. C08-004-001-A
C08-004-001-A
C08-004-001-A
The mechanical advantage (MA) of a machine is the ratio
of the force out to the force in.
Fout
MA = ____
Fin
Applying Findin = Foutdout, we find: The box can be lifted a short distance
with a large force.
d
Fout ____
MA = ____ = in
Fin dout

152 CHAPTER 7
 Applying Findin = Foutdout, we find:
MA = FoutFin = dindout

Machines can alter the force and the distance moved.

A machine can increase or decrease the force acting on an

object. The distance the object moves also changes. The work
input equals the work output in the absence of friction.
Think about what happens when you use a bottle opener.
You apply a small force on a long lever arm. This is translated
into a large force through a short lever arm. Suppose you tried
to pry the lid off with just your fingers. You couldn’t apply this
much force. The machine magnifies your force. Now think
about what happens when you swing a baseball bat or tennis
racquet. Your arm moves a short distance and the end of the
bat or racquet a long distance. The machine magnifies the
distance over which a force is exerted.

Efficiency is a measure of how well a machine works.

Real machines are not frictionless. The efficiency of a machine

is the ratio of work output to work input.
Wout
eff = _____
Win
Look at the photo on the right. Suppose you want to lift a
300 N trunk 1 m. The work out is 300 N. You exert 120 N to
push it up a 3 m ramp. The work in is 360 N. The efficiency is The box can be pushed a longer
300 ÷ 360 = 0.83. distance with a smaller force.

SECTION 7.4 REVIEW

REVIEWING MAIN IDEAS
1. Give an example of an object with both linear and rotational motion.

2. Suppose you put the handle in the middle of a door. How would the force
needed to open a door change?

Critical Thinking
3. Identify two of the simple machines in a bicycle.

C I R C U L A R M O T I O N A N D G R AV I TAT I O N 153