Centre of Mass
ICSE · Class 11 · Physics
Summary of Centre of Mass for ICSE Class 11 Physics. Key concepts, important points, and chapter overview.
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Overview
Centre of mass is the point that describes the motion of a whole system as if all its mass were concentrated there and the external force acted there. For a system of particles, this point gives a simple way to study motion, momentum, and force. For rigid bodies, it is found by symmetry for regular
Key Concepts
The centre of mass is
The centre of mass is the point whose motion represents the motion of the entire system. If external force acts on a system, the system moves as if it
For two particles of masses m1
For two particles of masses m1 and m2 at position vectors r1 and r2, the centre of mass is given by the weighted mean of their position vectors. It li
For n particles
For n particles, the centre of mass is the mass-weighted average of all their position vectors. In Cartesian form, each coordinate is found by adding
For a continuous body
For a continuous body, the centre of mass is found using integration over small mass elements. The vector form is the mass-weighted integral of positi
A uniform rod has mass evenly
A uniform rod has mass evenly distributed along its length, so its centre of mass lies at the midpoint. For a rod with non-uniform mass per unit lengt
Learning Objectives
- Understand the idea of centre of mass for a system of particles
- Use the formula for centre of mass of two particles and n particles
- Find centre of mass in Cartesian coordinates
- Apply integration to locate the centre of mass of continuous bodies
- Understand the motion of centre of mass under external and internal forces
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