Imagine riding On a merry-go-round at the center. As you walk to the outer edge, the merry-go-round slows in order to conserve angular momentum. True or false?

Answer: True

Explanation:

When riding at the center, the angular momentum is

Iω²

where I = rotational inertia

ω = angular velocity.

When you move away from the center to a radius r, you add to the rotational inertia by mr², where m is your mass.

The new rotational inertia becomes I + mr².

If the new angular velocity is ω₁. then

(I + mr²) ω₁² = Iω²

Therefore

ω₁² = Iω² / (I + mr²)

Therefore ω₁ < ω in order to conserve angular momentum.