Center of mass worksheet

Exercises

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.
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?

2003 ex CM 01dk 1 3/14/19

 Center of mass worksheet

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.

2003 ex CM 01dk 2 3/14/19