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The moment of inertia of a body is a measure of the resistance to rotational motion around an axis. The larger the moment of inertia, the more work is required to set the object into rotation. This concept is analogous to the relationship between mass and the amount of work needed to set an object in motion. The moment of inertia depends on the distribution of mass within the object. Objects with a symmetrical mass distribution farther from the axis of rotation have a higher moment of inertia. Consider two wheels of the same shape and mass but with different mass distributions and moments of inertia. When rolled down a slope, the wheel with the higher moment of inertia will use more of its initial potential energy for rotation, leaving less energy available for forward motion.
