Skip to Content Go to sign in Skip to Primary Navigation Skip to Secondary Navigation Skip to Page Navigation Skip to Header Navigation Skip to Footer Navigation Read more about accessability options and our navigation

Physics Classroom is making strides to make our site accessible to everyone. Our site contains 6 navigation areas. The Primary, Secondary, and Page Level navigations have a screen reader version of their nav structure that allows using the left and right keys to navigate sibling navigation items, and up or down keys to navigate parent or child navigation items. The others can be navigated using tabs. The Primary Navigation handles the first 2 levels of site pages. The Secondary (which is not always available) handles the 3rd and 4th level of structure. The Page level navigation allows you to navigate the current page's headings quickly. The Header Navigation contains the Light/Dark Mode toggle, Search, Notifications and account login. The Breadcrumb Navigation contains the breadcrumb of the current page. If the current page has a breadcrumb, you can get to it by skipping to the content and tabbing in reverse (shift plus tab). The Footer Navigation contains links such as Privacy, Contact, about and terms. Some resources contain an Audio Player that can be activated by holding down the T key for 3 seconds, and then using K to pause and resume. While not every area of Physics Classroom is usable purely from keyboard and screen reader, we are committed to continue work on making this possible. If you have questions or need additional help, please use this link to contact us.

Return to screen reader navigation
Home Interactives Rotation and Balance Center of Mass Notes

Center of Mass Notes

Notes:

The Center of Mass Interactive is an adjustable-size file that displays nicely on smart phones, on tablets such as the iPad, on Chromebooks, and on laptops and desktops. The size of the Interactive can be scaled to fit the device that it is displayed on. The compatibility with smart phones, iPads, other tablets, and Chromebooks make it a perfect tool for use in a 1:1 classroom.

Teaching Ideas and Suggestions:

This Interactive is intended for use in the early stages of a learning cycle on center of mass and balance. Learners can modify the shape of an object by dragging it out with thier mouse of their finger (on a touch screen). The center of mass is indicated by the circular icon and it dynamically updates as the shape is modified. Students can be challenged to explore questions like ...
  • Where is the center of mass located for a symmetrical object?
  • Where is the center of mass located for an assymetrical object?
  • Can the center of mass ever be located outside the boundaries of an object? If yes, then under what conditions?

Once an object is drawn, it can be hung from any given point on its surface. Once hung, the object will swing back and forth about the pivot point (i.e., the pin) until it settles into position. The pin can be moved to other positions, allows students to explore how the location of the pivot point affects the manner is which it hangs. Students can be given the open-ended challenge of determining the relationship between the center of mass and the pivot point.

As of this time, The Physics Classroom has not prepared any activities for use with this Interactive. We are confident that teachers who use our website will come up with plenty of great ideas for using the Center of Mass Interactive and we invite you to share those ideas with us. Please share your ideas on our social media websites:

 

Related Resources:

Drats! If we had more time, we would have more resources. As of this writing, there are no resources at The Physics Classroom that pertain to the topic of the center of mass and balance. We expect that someday that will change. We don't know when "someday" is but we assure you that we are pedaling as fast as we can.

Visit: Center of Mass Interactive