Question

A uniform piece of wire, 30 cm long, is bent in the center to give it an L-shape. How far from the bend is the center of mass?


I know that the center of mass is
([m1]x+[m2]x)/([m1]+m2]), but I don't quite understand how to apply it to this problem.

Answer 1

Do the calculations separately in the x and the y directions.

Let each of the 15cm segments lie along the x, and y-axes, with the bend at the origin.

Apply
([m1]x+[m2]x)/([m1]+m2])
to get, along the x-axis:
m1=15, m2=15, x1=7.5, x2=0
x0=(m1x+m2x)/(m1+m2)
=(7.5*15+0)/(15+15)
=3.75
Solve similarly for y0.