Center of Mass in a Canoe

x

1

0

x

2

10

m

1

presets

man

dog

cat

duck

m

2

presets

man

dog

cat

duck

toggle axes

additional options

center of mass

x

cm

= 3.67 m

A man (of mass

m

1

) and his dog (of mass

m

2

) are on opposite ends of a 10-meter-long canoe. Since

m

1

>

m

2

, the center of mass

x

cm

for the system (yellow fulcrum) is closer to the man.

The center of mass can be calculated from the equation

(

m



+

m

2

+

m

canoe

)

x

cm

=

m

1

x

1

+

m

2

x

2

+

m

canoe

x

canoe

.