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Handout - Section 8 - 3 CenterOfMass

The center of mass of a system is the point where the system would balance. For a system of two weights on a rod, the x-coordinate of the center of mass is (x1m1 + x2m2) / (m1 + m2). More generally, the center of mass of multiple weights in the xy-plane has coordinates: ̅ = ∑ximi / ∑mi ̅ = ∑yimi / ∑mi The moments about the x and y axes measure how unbalanced the system is with respect to each axis. For a uniform lamina, the centroid can be found by integrating the x and y coordinates over the region and dividing by

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44 views2 pages

Handout - Section 8 - 3 CenterOfMass

The center of mass of a system is the point where the system would balance. For a system of two weights on a rod, the x-coordinate of the center of mass is (x1m1 + x2m2) / (m1 + m2). More generally, the center of mass of multiple weights in the xy-plane has coordinates: ̅ = ∑ximi / ∑mi ̅ = ∑yimi / ∑mi The moments about the x and y axes measure how unbalanced the system is with respect to each axis. For a uniform lamina, the centroid can be found by integrating the x and y coordinates over the region and dividing by

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8.

3 Center of Mass (Centroid)

The center of mass of a system of weights (or of a region in the plane) is the point ̅ ̅ where the system balances.

Basic Case: The center of mass of a system of two weights connected by


a thin rod along the x-axis, with mass m1 at coordinate x1 and m2 at
coordinate x2, has x-coordinate:
x1 ̅ x2

̅ .

(we deduce this formula from Archimedes’ Law of Lever, a.k.a. “the See-saw Law”: )

Generalized to multiple weights in the xy-plane: The center of mass of a system of weights:
mass at point ,…, at point is the point with coordinates:

∑
̅
∑
̅
{

The numerators ∑ and ∑ are called the moments of the system about the y-axis
and x-axis, respectively, and measure the tendency of the system to rotate about each axis (i.e. how unbalanced the
system is with respect to each axis).

Example: Compute the moments and the center of mass for the system:
at point
at point ,
at point
at point

Total mass is .

Center of mass is at: ̅ ̅ ??


Calculus Problem: compute the centroid of a lamina (flat plate), of uniform density , occupying a region R
in the plane.

a) When R is the area under :

∫ ∫

The density cancels out, so the centroid is: ̅ ̅

Formulas:

b) When R is the area bounded above by and below by :

Note: If R has a line of symmetry, the centroid lies along that line (so a center of symmetry is a center of mass too!)

Ex1: Find the centroid of the region bounded by the curves: and . (answer: ̅ ̅ ( ))
Ex 2: Find the center of mass of the triangle with vertices at points (-1, 0), (0,2) and (1,0). (answer: ̅ ̅ ( ))

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