Final answer:
The moment of inertia is a quantitative measure of rotational inertia. It is influenced by both the amount of mass present and the distribution of that mass around the axis of rotation.
Step-by-step explanation:
The moment of inertia is the quantitative measure of rotational inertia, just as in translational motion, and mass is the quantitative measure of linear inertia-that is, the more massive an object is, the more inertia it has, and the greater is its resistance to change in linear velocity. Similarly, the greater the moment of inertia of a rigid body or system of particles, the greater is its resistance to change in angular velocity about a fixed axis of rotation.
It is interesting to see how the moment of inertia varies with r, the distance to the axis of rotation of the mass particles. Rigid bodies and systems of particles with more mass concentrated at a greater distance from the axis of rotation have greater moments of inertia than bodies and systems of the same mass, but concentrated near the axis of rotation. In this way, we can see that a hollow cylinder has more moment of inertia compared to a solid cylinder of the same mass and size.