Arkansas Tech University

MATH 2924: Calculus II

Dr. Marcel B. Finan
12 Density and Center of Mass
In this section we discuss two of the applications of denite integrals, namely,
the concepts of density and the center of mass.
Density
Density is used in dierent situations to describe similar concepts. We present
some of the situations.
There is the density of a substance, which indicates how much mass per
volume unit (i.e. grams per cm
3
) the substance has.
Theres population density (i.e. people per square mile in a city).
Density of typed words on a page.
Theres density of fog, referring to the amount of water vapor in a volume
of unit of air ( i.e. kg/m
3
).
In all these cases we can use density to compute total mass, people, words,
amount of water vapor, etc. If density is uniform, simply multiply the entire
area/volume/etc by the density. If density is not uniform, then we divide
the region /solid/etc into small pieces so that the density is approximately
uniform on each piece, then add all the pieces together to obtain a Riemann
sum. Making the pieces smaller and smaller, i.e. letting n , we obtain
a denite integral.
Example 12.1
Find the total mass of a rod of length l and (line-)density (x) where x is
the distance a length element from the left end.
Solution.
If the density was uniform then the mass m of a length element x would
(by denition of ) be simply
m = x.
1
However, the density is not uniform. So we can approximate the total mass
of the rod by slicing it into thin segments x
i1
x x
i
each of length x
where the density is constant there, say (x) (x
i1
) for all x in the interval
[x
i1
, x
i
]. See Figure 12.1.
Figure 12.1
Then the mass of the i
th
piece is
m
i
(x
i1
)x
and
M =
n

i=1
m
i

n

i=1
(x
i1
)x.
The right-hand side expression is a left-Riemann sum. Taking the limit of
M as n (innitely many thin segments) we obtain
M =

l
0
(x)dx.
Example 12.2
Find the total mass of a circular object of radius R and (area-)density (r)
where r is the radius of an area element from the center.
Solution.
If the density was uniform then the mass m of an area element A would
(by denition of ) be simply
m = A.
Since the density is not uniform, we approximate the total mass of the disk
by slicing it into thin concentric, circular rings, r
i1
r r
i
each of area
A
i
where the density is constant there, say (r) (r
i1
) for all r in the
interval [r
i1
, r
i
]. See Figure 12.2.
2
Figure 12.2
Then the mass of the i
th
ring is
m
i
(r
i1
)A
i
.
But
A
i
= (r
i1
+ r)
2
r
2
i1
= 2r
i1
r + (r)
2
.
Since each slice is assumed to be very thin, we can ignore the term (r)
2
.
Thus, obtaining
m
i
2r
i1
(r
i1
)r.
It follows that the total mass is approximated by the sum
M =
n

i=1
m
i

n

i=1
2r
i1
(r
i1
)r.
Taking the limit of M as n (innitely many thin rings) we obtain
M =

R
0
2r(r)dr.
Example 12.3
Suppose we know the (volume-)density (r), i.e. the mass per volume ele-
ment, of a spherical object of radius R as a function of the radius r from the
center. Estimate the total mass of the object.
3
Solution.
If the density was uniform then the mass m of a volume element V
would (by denition of ) be simply
m = V.
Since the density is not uniform, we approximate the total mass of the ball by
slicing it into thin concentric, spherical shells, r
i1
r r
i
each of volume
V
i
where the density is constant there, say (r) (r
i1
) for all r in the
interval [r
i1
, r
i
].
Then the mass of the i
th
spherical shell is
m
i
(r
i1
)V
i
.
But the volume of a thin spherical shell with inner radius r
i1
and thickness
r is
V
i
=
4
3
(r
i1
+ r)
3

4
3
r
3
i1
=
4
3
[r
3
i1
+ 3r
2
i1
r + 3r
i1
(r)
2
+ (r)
3
r
3
i1
]

4
3
3r
2
i1
r = 4r
2
i1
r
since (r)
2
0 and (r)
3
0. Thus,
m
i
4r
2
i1
(r
i1
)r
and
M =
n

i=1
m
i

n

i=1
4r
2
i1
(r
i1
)r.
Taking the limit of M as n (innitely many thin shells) we obtain
M =

R
0
4r
2
(r)dr.
Center of Mass
The center of mass is the so-called balancing point of an object (or
system.) For example, when two children are sitting on a seesaw, the point
at which the seesaw balances, i.e. becomes horizontal is the center of mass
of the seesaw.
4
Discrete Point Masses: One Dimensional Case
Consider again the example of two children of mass m
1
and m
2
sitting on
each side of a seesaw. It can be shown experimentally that the center of mass
is a point P on the seesaw such that
m
1
d
1
= m
2
d
2
where d
1
and d
2
are the distances from m
1
and m
2
to P respectively.
In order to generalize this concept, we introduce an x-axis with points m
1
and m
2
located at points with coordinates x
1
and x
2
. See Figure 12.3.
Figure 12.3
Since P is the balancing point, we must have
m
1
(x x
1
) = m
2
(x
2
x).
Solving for x we nd
x =
m
1
x
1
+ m
2
x
2
m
1
+ m
2
.
The product m
1
x
1
is called the moment of m
1
about the origin.
The above result can be extended to a system with many points as follows:
The center of mass of a system of n point-masses m
1
, m
2
, , m
n
located
at x
1
, x
2
, , x
n
along the x-axis is given by the formula
x =

n
i=1
m
i
x
i

n
i=1
m
i
.
Continuous System:One Dimensional Case
Next we consider a continuous system. Suppose that we have an object lying
on the x-axis between x = a and x = b. At point x, suppose that the object
has mass density (mass per unit length) of (x). To calculate the center of
mass, we divide the object into n pieces, each of length x. On each piece,
the density is nearly constant, so the mass of the ith piece is
m
i
(x
i
)x.
5
The center of mass is then
x =

n
i=1
m
i
x
i

n
i=1
m
i

n
i=1
x
i
(x
i
)x

n
i=1
(x
i
)x
.
Letting n we obtain
x =

b
a
x(x)dx

b
a
(x)dx
.
Example 12.4
Find the center of mass of a 2-meter rod lying on the x-axis with its left end
at the origin if its density is (x) = 15x
2
kg/m.
Solution.
The total mass is
M =

2
0
15x
2
dx = 5x
3

2
0
= 40 kg.
The center of mass is
x =

2
0
15x
3
dx
40
=
15
40

x
4
4

2
0
= 1.5 m.
Two Dimensional System
The concept of center of mass can be applied to two dimensional objects as
well.
The determination of the center of mass in two dimensions is done in a similar
manner. If a mass m is located at a point (x, y) then we dene the moment
of m about the x-axis to be the product my and the monent of m about
the y-axis to be the product mx.
Let (x, y) be the center of mass. The procedure of nding formulas for x and
y is the same as the one dimensional case. Add up the masses times their
x-locations then divide by total mass to get x. Next, add up the masses times
their y-locations then divide by total mass to get y. Hence the two formulas:
x =
Moment about y-axis
Total mass
=

n
i=1
x
i
m
i

n
i=1
m
i
and
6
y =
Moment about x-axis
Total mass
=

n
i=1
y
i
m
i

n
i=1
m
i
In the continuous case with uniform density we have
x =

b
a
xA(x)dx
M
, y =

d
c
yA(y)dy
M
where A(x) and A(y) are the lengths of strips perpendicular to the x and
yaxes, respectively. Note that, for variable density, nding the center of
mass requires the use of double and multiple integrals, topics that are dis-
cussed in Calculus III.
Example 12.5
Point-masses of 4, 8, 3, and 2 kilograms are located at (2, 3), (2, 6), (7, 3),
and (5, 1) respectively. Find the coordinates of the center of mass.
Solution
Applying the formulas above we nd
x =
(4)(2) + (8)(2) + (3)(7) + (2)(5)
4 + 8 + 3 + 2
=
39
17
.
and
y =
(4)(3) + (8)(6) + (3)(3) + (2)(1)
4 + 8 + 3 + 2
=
43
17
Example 12.6
Suppose an isosceles triangle with uniform density, altitude a, and base b is
placed in the xy-plane as shown in Figure 12.4.
Figure 12.4
7
Show that the center of mass is at x =
a
3
, y = 0. Hence, show that the center
of mass is independent of the triangles base.
Solution.
Because the mass of the triangle is symmetrically distributed with respect to
the x-axis, then y = 0. If is the density of the triangle and m is its mass
then
=
m
A
=
m
ab
2
=
2m
ab
.
We partition the triangle into vertical strips as shown in Figure 12.5.
Figure 12.5
Let h
i
be the length of the base of the triangle with vertex at (a, 0) and
passing through (x
i
, 0). Using similar triangles we nd that
h
i
b
=
a x
i
a
.
Solving for h
i
we nd h
i
=
b
a
(a x
i
). Hence, the area of the ith strip is
h
i
x =
b
a
(a x
i
)x and the approximate mass of the ith strip is
m
i

b(a x
i
)
a
2m
ab
x =
2m(a x
i
)
a
2
x.
The approximate moment is
n

i=1
x
i
2m(a x
i
)
a
2
x
and the exact moment is
8
lim
n
n

i=1
x
i
2m(a x
i
)
a
2
x =

a
0
2mx(a x)
a
2
dx
=
2m
a
2

a
0
(ax x
2
)dx =
2m
a
2

ax
2
2

x
3
3

a
0
=
ma
3
.
Hence,
x =
ma
3
m
=
a
3
.
Finally, the center of mass is the point (
a
3
, 0).
Remark 12.1
The center of mass of a body need not be within the body itself; the center
of mass of a ring or a hollow cylinder of uniform density is located in the
enclosed space, not in the object itself.
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