PPT Activity Center of Mass of a 2-dimensional Object

Developer Notes
 Another good activity for CM which needs to be written up. Use a
3"x5" index card, mark it into 1" squares. Mark several shapes along
the lines. Estimate/ calculate/ geometrically draw the center of mass
of each shape. Cut the shapes apart and compare the prediction with
the real CM. Here's an example. The L can be used in the activity
already in here. Or make other shapes. Students should be able to
estimate the CM by drawing some lines through centers of squares and seeing which side has
more mass (area). Students should be able to draw the CM by determining the CM of
symmetrical shapes, connecting them, and using the ratio of masses to find the ratio along the
connecting line. Students can use some math to calculate the length along the line. Balancing
the shapes on a pencil eraser gives a pretty accurate CM.
 Here are some more exercises that could be added. To this document or a different one?
1) Define center of mass.
2) How is center of mass related to inertia?
3) How is center of mass related to gravity?
4) When is a free-standing object stable?
5) When is a free-hanging object stable?
6) Why is the concept of center of mass useful?
7) A father and his young son get on a teeter-totter. The son sits 2 m from the center, but the
father has to sit closer to balance. Where does the father have to sit to balance the teeter-totter
if he weighs 4 times as much as his son?
8) On a meter stick, like in our lab activity, there are masses hanging. On the left are masses of
3 g at 0.20 m and 10 g at 0.40 m from the center. On the right is a 6 g mass at 0.50 m from
the center. Where would a 4 g mass have to be hung to make the meter stick balance?
9) Two masses are hanging from the ends of a 1 m bar. Where is
the balance point of the system? m1 is 1 kg, m2 is 3 kg. Ignore
the mass of the bar between the two masses. m1 m2
10) Same as the previous question, but m1 is 2 kg and m2 is 3 kg.
11) Same as the previous question, but m1 is 20 kg and m2 is 50 kg and the masses are each 1 cm
in from the ends of the bar, so they're 0.98 m apart.
12) A person is standing on the very end of a 2 m long
board that is level and balanced. The balance point is
0.20 m from the end the person is on. The board has a
mass of 20 kg.
a) What is the mass of the person?
b) How much does the person weigh?
13) A 98 N person is standing on a board, 1 m from
the end. The board is balanced on a point that is
2m from the same end. The board is 49 N. How
long is the board overall?
14) Describe three methods to find the center of mass
of this L-shaped piece of cardboard. Draw diagrams to help your
explanation.

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PPT Activity Center of Mass of a 2-dimensional Object

15) Challenge question: Where is the center of mass of the object in the preceding question if the
length of the sides of the squares is 1 m? Give numbers.
16) Challenge question: A honeybucket man is carrying his load. He has a
pole 2 m long with a bucket hanging from each end. The buckets have a
mass of 2 kg each. The pole has a mass of 1 kg. The front bucket has 5
kg of "honey" in it, and the rear bucket has 3 kg of "honey." How far
from the center of the pole is the honeybucket man's shoulder?

Answers

1) The center of mass of an object is the average point of the mass of the object.
2) The center of mass of an object moves inertially, that is, if there is no net force on the object,
the center of mass will travel in a straight line, even if the object is spinning. If the object is a
projectile, the center of mass will travel in a parabola, even if the object is spinning.
3) The gravitational field of an object (like Earth) acts as if it all comes from the center of mass.
4) A free-standing object is stable when the center of mass is above the base of support.
5) A free-hanging object is stable when the center of mass is directly below the suspension
point.
6) Center of mass is a useful concept because it simplifies how we look at objects. Rather than
trying to do complex calculations, we can just find the center of mass and act as if all the
mass is there.
7) 0.5 m
8) 0.4 m
9) 0.25 m from the 3 kg mass
10) 0.4 m from the 3 kg mass
11) 0.28 m from the 50 kg mass
12)
a) 80 kg
b) 784 N
13) 8 m
14) - Balance the object on a point so that it is a level. That point is the center of mass.
- Suspend the mass and hang a string from the suspension point. Mark the line of the string.
Do the same thing from a different point. The center of mass is where the strings cross.
- Spin the object. The point it spins around is the center of mass.
- Slide the object along until it just falls off the edge of a table and mark that line. Do the
same thing in another direction. The center of mass is where the lines cross.
- Mark the geometric center of mass of 2 squares and of the other 2 squares. Draw a line
between them. The midpoint of that line is the center of mass.
- Mark the geometric center of mass of the lower 3 squares and of the single square. Draw a
line between them. The center of mass is 1/4 of the way along that line from the center of
mass of the 3 squares.
- Balance the object on a rail and mark the line. Do the same thing in another direction. The
center of mass is where the lines cross.
15) The center of mass is 0.25 m to the left and 0.25 m below the inside corner of the L.
16) The man's shoulder is 0.15 m (2/13 m) forward of the center.

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PPT Activity Center of Mass of a 2-dimensional Object

Version Date Who Revisions

03 2004/03/02 dk  Updated to new format
 Changed title to "2-dimensional" from "flat"
 Background was "How can you find the center of mass
of an object?"
 Added more activities to the weird cardboard activity
 Added the L cardboard activity
04 2004/03/22 dk  Added index card CM notes.

Goals
 Students should understand that the center of mass is the average point of all the mass in an
object. (They'll find how to calculate it later.)
 Students should know that the center of mass always hangs directly below the pivot point for
a suspended object.
 Students should understand that two halves of a balancing object may not have the same
mass.

Concepts Introduced

Area Concept
Physics Objects act as if all mass is at the center of mass.
Physics The center of mass always hangs directly below the pivot point.

Time Required
This whole activity should take about 30 - 45 minutes.

Warm-up Question

Presentation
This activity sheet needn’t be handed out.

Assessment

Writing Prompts

Relevance

Answers to Exercises

Answers to Challenge/Extension

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PPT Activity Center of Mass of a 2-dimensional Object

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PPT Activity Center of Mass of a 2-dimensional Object

Background
Center of mass is a very useful term that comes up in many situations.

Problem
Find the center of mass of a two-dimensional (flat) object and investigate it.

Materials
 1 piece of cardboard (corrugated or single ply, about 0.2 x 0.2 m)
 1 scissors
 1 string
 1 washer
 1 push-pin, toothpick, or straightened paper clip
 1 ruler
 1 marker
 Balance

Procedure
Do each of the activities in order. Answer any question(s) before proceeding to the next activity.
1. Cut the cardboard into a square. Draw diagonal lines from corner to corner to find the center
of the square. Circle the point where the lines cross.
2. Place the circle on the tip of your finger. What do you find?
3. Spin the cardboard in one place and watch the circle. What do you notice?
4. Spin the cardboard across the desk or floor and watch the circle. What do you notice?
5. Cut the cardboard in two along one of the lines. Record the mass of one side of the
cardboard. Record the mass of the other side. Are the masses the same or different?
6. Cut another piece of cardboard into any weird shape you want.
a. Attach the washer to one end of the string.
b. Push the pin through the cardboard anywhere near the edge and let the cardboard
hang straight down. Make sure it can swing freely.
c. Hang the string from the pin and let the string hang straight down.
d. Make a mark where the string crosses the edge of the cardboard, then use the ruler to
draw a line along the path of the string from the mark to the pin hole.
e. Repeat steps 3-5 three more times using different holes.
f. Look at the lines you drew on the cardboard. What do you see?
7. Circle the point from the previous step. Place the circle on the tip of your finger. What do
you find?
8. Spin the cardboard in one place and watch the circle. What do you notice?
9. Spin the cardboard across the desk or floor and watch the circle. What do you notice?
10. Cut the cardboard in two along one of the lines. Record the mass of one side of the
cardboard. Record the mass of the other side. Are the masses the same or different?

Summary
Now, for each of the procedures, explain why.

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PPT Activity Center of Mass of a 2-dimensional Object

Reading
In the lab, you played with cardboard and found the balance point. For a 2-dimensional object,
the center of mass is the point on which the object balances - it is the average point of all the
mass in the object. The mass of an object is evenly distributed around the center of mass.

In most situations, objects act as if all of the mass is at the center of mass. For example, if you
throw a rock, it will travel in a smooth curve, a parabola. But if you throw a stick, it will spin as
it goes through the air, so that parts of it travel in loops. However, the center of mass will still
travel in a parabola, just like the rock. When a gymnast flips, or an ice skater spins, they spin
around their center of mass.

For the most part, you can consider gravity as acting just on the center of mass of an object. An
object weighs the same whether you put the whole thing on a scale or just support it by the
middle. For a freely hanging object, the center of mass will always be straight below the
suspension point.

The center of mass doesn't have to be in the object. Where is the center of mass of a bagel or a
doughnut? How about a boomerang?

Exercises
1. When is a hanging object in equilibrium?
2. If you balance an object, must two sides have the same mass?

Challenge/ extension
1. When would the center of mass differ from the center of gravity?

Glossary

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