Build a Barycenter
Objective: To see how the differences between two masses impact the location of a
barycenter
Materials
-Two clay spheres
-Pencil
-String
-Construction paper “bracket”
1. Take your “bracket” and loop your string underneath it so that it is sitting in the
crease of the bracket
2. Take your pencil and insert into the holes of the bracket.
3. Move the bracket to the center of your pencil. The bracket represents the
barycenter
4. Take your two clay spheres and make them equal in mass
5. Stick the clay spheres on either side of the pencil.
6. Move the barycenter until they balance.
a. Where is the barycenter relative to the masses?
b. Spin the masses. What are the masses moving around?
7. Take some clay from the left sphere and add it to the right sphere.
a. What happened when you picked the model up?
b. Move the barycenter until the masses are balanced. Where did the
barycenter have to move to?
c. Spin the masses. What are the masses moving around? How does this look
different from when you did this in step 6?
Follow Up
What do you think the two clay spheres could represent?