Question

A spinning top moves as a whole. However its motion is not considered to be translatory motion Why? What kind of motion is it?

Answer 1

In translational motion, an object changes its position such that every point in the body experiences the same velocity at any instant of time. Here, due to the spinning of the top about its axis, the velocity of different points of the top becomes different, so it's motion cannot be considered a translatory motion. When an object changes its orientation about a fixed axis, then the motion of the object is said to be rotational motion. Therefore, the spinning top is undergoing rotational motion.