Creative Commons License Copyright © Michael Richmond. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.

A ruler with constant mass density

A ruler is exactly 6 inches long. It has a linear mass density of 60 grams per inch; that means that a piece of the ruler 1 inch long has a mass of 60 grams.



  Q:  What is the mass of one inch of the ruler?


  Q:  What is the total mass of this ruler?


The answers


Now, let's consider one little piece of this ruler: I'll mark it with a dark blue color.



  Q:  What is the mass of this little piece?


  Q:  What is the contribution of this little piece
          to the equation for center of mass?


  Q:  What is the location of the center
        of mass of the ruler in the horizontal direction?


The answers

Creative Commons License Copyright © Michael Richmond. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.