Lesson Plan: Center of Mass of Laminas
This lesson plan includes the objectives, prerequisites, and exclusions of the lesson teaching students how to find the position of the center of mass (sometimes called the center of gravity) of a lamina composed of standard shapes in 2D.
Objectives
Students will be able to
- find the center of mass of laminas that are rectangles, triangles, or other standard 2D shapes including semicircles,
- find the center of mass of laminas composed of standard 2D shapes,
- find the center of mass of a lamina with additional masses added,
- solve applied problems related to center of mass, for example, finding unknown angle measures given that the system is suspended from a vertex.
Prerequisites
Students should already be familiar with
- moments and related calculations,
- center of mass of particles,
- center of mass of rods.
Exclusions
Students will not cover
- center of mass of solids.
