Final answer:
The moment of inertia of the propeller is found by calculating the moment of inertia for one blade as a thin rod about an axis through its end and multiplying it by the number of blades, which is four.
Step-by-step explanation:
The question asks for the moment of inertia of a propeller consisting of individual blades treated as long, thin rods. The formula for the moment of inertia for a thin rod rotated about an axis perpendicular to its length and passing through its end is given by I = mL²/3. If the propeller has four blades, the total moment of inertia is four times that of a single blade.
Using the information, the moment of inertia of one blade is calculated and then multiplied by four (since there are four blades) to get the total moment of inertia for the propeller. The mass (m) and length (L) values are supposed to be given, allowing for the calculation of the single blade's moment of inertia and ultimately the entire propeller.
If we had actual values for a single blade’s mass and length, we would use I = ml²/3 to find I for one blade, and then multiply by four to find the total I for the propeller. As in one of the examples, if a single blade has mass 50.0 kg and length 4.00 m, the moment of inertia for one blade would be (50.0 kg)(4.00 m)²/3 and therefore I = 4 * (50.0 kg)(4.00 m)²/3 for the propeller with four blades.