Final answer:
The parallel axis theorem allows the calculation of an object's moment of inertia about a new axis that is parallel to an original axis for which the inertia is known, by adding md² to the original inertia.
Step-by-step explanation:
The parallel axis theorem provides a method to calculate the moment of inertia for an object about a new axis that is parallel to an original axis whose moment of inertia is already known. If the original moment of inertia is Icenter of mass and the object's mass is m, the moment of inertia Iparallel-axis about the new axis can be found by adding md², where d is the distance between the two axes. This theorem is significant in the field of rotational dynamics where analyzing the motion of rotating objects involves calculations of torques and angular accelerations.