Center Of Mass

 The center of mass is a position defined relative

to an object or system of objects.

 It is the average position of all the parts of the

system, weighted according to their masses.

 Center of mass is located at the centroid.

 The velocity of the system’s center of mass does
not change, as long as the system is closed

 Center of mass can be found by vector addition

of the weighted position vectors which point to
the center of mass of each object in a system
 Center of Mass Formula
The center of mass is a point of balance of an object or a group of objects. The
center of mass can be found for any one, two-, or three-dimensional object, and so
the units are meters (m) in each dimension. The formula given here is for the center
of mass in one dimension.

X = center of mass (m)

mi = mass of a part of an object

(kg)

xi = position of the part of an

object (m)
 Center of Mass Formula Questions:

 1) The minute hand of a clock consists of an arrow and a

circle connected by a thin piece of metal with negligible
mass. The arrow has a mass of 15.0 g, and the circle has
a mass of 60.0 g. If the circle is at position 0.000 m, and
the arrow is at position 0.100 m, where is the center of
mass?