Draw the centre of gravity for a circular and an equilateral triangle-shaped lamina: mechanics Report, SUSS, Singapore

Note: Take pictures as you conduct the experiment.

Procedure for Part 1 – Determine the center of gravity for a regular-shaped lamina.
a) Make three holes in the cardboard as near the edge as possible.
b) Arrange the setup as shown. In this instance, a bamboo pole is placed across two chairs.
c) Insert a paper clip or wire hook into one of the holes and suspend the lamina from the pole with a cloth peg holding the setup in place.
d) Hang the string with weight attached through the paper clip.
e) Allow the lamina and string to stabilise before drawing a line on the lamina to represent the line of the string.
f) Repeat steps c to e for the other two holes.
g) Clear mark the intersection for the regular-shaped object.

Procedure for Part 2 – Determine the centre of gravity for an irregular-shaped lamina.
a) Draw an irregular-shaped profile on the same cardboard as shown and cut the profile out.

b) Make three holes in the cardboard as near the edge as possible.
c) Repeat the same steps as in the procedure for part 1.
d) Use a different coloured pen when drawing the lines on the lamina for the second procedure.
e) Place the lamina on the tip of your finger and the lamina should stay in place if the procedures are properly carried out.

Discussion
a) Draw the centre of gravity for a circular and an equilateral triangle-shaped lamina.
b) Discuss the precautions that you took while conducting the experiments in order to obtain accurate results.
c) Discuss, with illustrations, how an object’s centre of gravity affects its stability.