Rubn Alfredo Jaramillo Gmez 3G

10/03/14
Lab Report 7: Center of mass
DESIGN
Aspect 1: Defining the problem and selecting variables
For this bimester, we did an experiment in the lab which consisted of measuring the center of
mass of a system whenever the masses in it are modified. Even if this experiment isnt related with
the topic of our current bimester, it provided new knowledge to me as I have never experimented
with the center of mass of objects.
The experiment consists of finding an equation or a relation for the center of mass of a system by
experimenting with it. We had a system consisting of a ruler, a table and different masses from
100 g to 1 kg. We were able to establish our variables and therefore carry out our experimentation
in an adequate way.
The research question we laid on to guide our experiment was:
Independent or manipulated variable
o Masses
o How much to move the masses across the ruler
Dependent or measured variable
o Center of mass (how much the ruler moved)
Controlled variables or constants.
o Ruler
o Table

Aspect 2: Controlling variables
The successful control of variables is going to be achieved by:
Put the masses in different points from the mass center (originally in 50 cm, as the ruler
measures 1 meter), and do the same (same points from mass center) for different masses.
The same person is going to place the masses at different positions.
The same person is going to measure how much the mass center moved every time we
placed the mass in a different position.
The same ruler is going to be used. The ruler functions as a weighing scale.
The table in which we put the ruler is going to be the same.
The distances are going to be measured in centimeters.
Consider the uncertainties for all of the measurements.
Aspect 3: developing a method for collection of data
The collection of sufficient relevant data is going to be achieved by:
Firstly, the system which we are going to work with is the following: a ruler is going to be
placed horizontally on an elevation (of a table) of about 3 cm, so that the ruler is balanced
right in the middle. So the initial center of mass is in 50 cm. Afterwards, a mass x is placed
wherever on the ruler, so that the equilibrium is lost and we have to find a new
equilibrium point so that the ruler doesnt fall, called the mass center. We can move the
mass along the ruler or rather change the mass.
By defining how the system works, we can proceed to explain our method.
With the ruler being placed at 50 cm, its original mass center, we are going to place
different masses on it, one at a time, and see how much we have to move the ruler to find
its new center of mass.
We are going to use four different masses to obtain more data and get more precise and
accurate results. Firstly, a mass of 100g (M
1
) is going to be placed at 10 cm from the
original center of mass, that is, at the mark of 40 cm of the ruler. By placing this mass, the
center of original center of mass (X
0
) is going to change because the system wouldnt be
balanced as it has more weight on one side. Afterwards, the mass of 100g will be moved
10 cm more to the left, that is, at the mark of 30 cm of the ruler; and the mass center will
move again. Then, the mass M
1
is going to be moved another 10 cm, and consequently the
mass center will move again by a distance D. Finally, M
1
will be placed at the mark of 10
cm of the ruler, and a new mass center is going to be found.
We are going to repeat the same procedure for the four different masses. The masses we
are going to work with are: 100g, 200g, 400g and 500g.
The distances we are going to put the mass away from the original center of mass are: 10
cm, 20 cm, 30 cm and 40 cm away.
To measure every new resultant center of mass, we are going to move the ruler along the
elevation of the table, with the mass wherever it is placed, to a point in which the system
is balanced (that means, the ruler doesnt fall).
Its easy to determine how much the mass center moved as we can observe it directly in
the marks of the ruler, by seeing how much it moved from the original mass center of 50
cm. However, since the elevation measures 5 cm approximately, and the elevation is the
surface where the ruler is placed, the system is balanced in a range of about 3 cm, so the
mass center would be exactly between those values in which it could be, for example: let
say that by placing a mass x, the mass center originally in 50 cm, moves by a distance r of
about 7 cm, that would place the new mass center in 43 cm. However, we can observe
that the ruler doesnt fall when the center is placed at 42.5 cm nor when it is placed on
43.5 cm, therefore the mass center can be said to be from 42.5 to 43.5 cm, and taking the
value in the middle (the essential mass center) it would really be in 43 cm, but with an
uncertainty of 0.5 cm.
Therefore, the uncertainty of every measurement of the new mass center would be of
0.5 cm.
And to get the more accurate value of the mass center, we are going to register the one
which can be moved .5 cm to the left and to the right, so that it is the value in the middle,
the real new mass center.

DATA COLLECTION AND PROCESSING
Aspect 1: recording raw data
My data is going to be recorded on two 3x6 table. At the horizontal top of Table 1 I am
going to write: distance in cm that the mass was placed away from the original center of
mass, where is the new center of mass in the ruler and the uncertainty.
On table two, at the horizontal top of the table I am going to write: distance the mass was
placed away from the orginal center of mass, how much the center of mass moved from
the original center of mass and the distance the center of mass moved in relation to the
previous center of mass.

Aspect 2: processing raw data
Distance (in cm) the mass
was placed from the
original center of mass
(50 cm)
New
Center of
mass
Uncertainty
(cm)
For mass 1 Mass 2 Mass 3 Mass 4
10 cm 47 45 42.5 43.5 0.5
20 cm 45.5 40 37 35 0.5
30 cm 39.5 34.5 29 28 0.5
40 cm 35.5 29.5 22.5 21 0.5



Distance the
mass was placed
from the
original center
of mass (50 cm)
How much the center of mass moved from
the original (cm)
Distance the center of mass
moved in relation to the previous
center of mass (cm)

Mass 1
Mass 2 Mass 3 Mass 4 Mass
1
Mass 2 Mass 3 Mass 4
10 3 5 7.5 6.5 3 5 7.5 6.5
20 4.5 10 13 15 1.5 5 5.5 8.5
30 10.5 14.5 21 22 6 4.5 8 7
40 14.5 20.5 27.5 29 4 5 6.5 7

Aspect 3: presenting processed data

Displacement of mass center from original mass center


0
5
10
15
20
0 10 20 30 40 50
D
i
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p
l
a
c
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m
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o
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m
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c
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Distance away from original mass center
Mass 1 (100 g)
Mass 1
0
5
10
15
20
25
0 10 20 30 40 50
D
i
s
p
a
c
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m
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f
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o
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m
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c
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Distance away form original mass center
Mass 2 (200g)
Mass 2


In this graphs I ploted the displacement of the center of mass from the original center of mass
against the distance that the masses were away from the original mass center (50cm). I could
observe that there is a directly proportional relation between the distance the mass is away from
mass center and how much the mass center displaces. As well we can observe that as the mass
increases the displacement of the mass center also increases.




0
5
10
15
20
25
30
0 20 40 60
D
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o
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Distance away from original mass center

Mass 3 (400g)
Mass 3
0
10
20
30
40
0 20 40 60
D
i
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p
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a
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m
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o
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m
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Distance away from original mass center
Mass 4 (500 g)
Mass 4
Displacement of mass center from previous mass center
(comparison of all masses)


In this graph I ploted the displacement of the center of mass considering the previous center of
mass, that is, how much does a new center of mass displaces, against distances the masses were
placed away from the original mass center. We can see that, for mass 1, the displacements vary a
lot, in contrast with the other three masses in which the displacement of every new center of
mass is more or less constant. In addition, it is important to note than in mass 2 (200g) the
displacement of every new center of mass shows to be almost constant. We can observe as well
that as the masses increase, the displacement of the new center of mass increases.

CONCLUSION AND EVALUATION
Aspect 1: concluding

The data I obtained was as I expected, since the distance that the center of mass moved
from the original center of mass increased as the mass of the object increased, as well as
the distance of the mass from the center of mass increased. The graphs that show the
displacement of the mass center from the original mass center show this directly
proportional relation between the mass of the object and the displacement of the mass
center, as well as between the distance the mass was placed away from the center of
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
Mass 1 Mass 2 Mass 3 Mass 4
D
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m
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f
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p
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v
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o
u
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m
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c
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Distance away from the original mass center (10, 20, 30 and 40 cm)
for each of the masses
Displacement of mass center from
previous mass center
10
20
30
40
mass and the displacement of the center of mass. This relationship also holds true in the
graph that shows the displacement of the center of mass in regards to the previous center
of mass, since the distances it displaces are bigger as the mass is greater and as the mass is
placed further away from the center of mass. Neverthless, a pattern couldnt be find
because in mass 1 (100g) the displacement varies lot, while for the other masses it shows
to be constant but not as expected. Therefore, an exact relation based on a mathematical
formula couldnt be found. It could be thought that as the mass decreases, the
displacement of the mass center is more unstable, but it isnt true because the
displacement of mass center for 200g is more constant than the one for 400g and 500g.
Aspect 2: evaluating procedure(s)

The data obtained for this experiment was accurate and precise to some extent because
our method to get it was well developed and we hold the same variables for every new
measurement. As well, since we measured different masses and at different distances, we
were able to obtain enough data so that a pattern could be shown, though we couldnt
find an exact mathematical relation that holds true every time the experiment is done.
Our method was also done correctly because in addition to our recollection of data, we
considered the uncertainties that appeared and we tried to reduce them as much as we
could. We obtained, in general, the results that we were expecting and we used the
method which we thought it would provide us the most precise and accurate data.
However, it is shown that an exact similar pattern is not shown in all of the graphs.

Aspect 3: Improving the investigation

We couldve improved our investigation by making the most of the time that was given to
us in the lab, since we were able to take all our measurements, however we werent able
to discuss about the data obtained. As well, we couldve thought of another method that
didnt required as much as data as ours but that instead would provide us more accurate
data which we could interpret faster and that could show an exact and accurate relation
between the data.