Rocking the Boat
Balancing a scaleCopyright Image by Arek Socha from Pixabay, https://pixabay.com/photos/scale-question-importance-balance-2635397/
Accessed August 1, 2020
The concepts of stability and equilibrium are introduced while students learn how these ideas are related to the concept of center of mass. They gain further understanding when they see, first-hand, how equilibrium is closely related to an object's center of mass. In an associated literacy activity, students learn about motion capture technology, the importance of center of gravity in animation and how use the concept of center of gravity in writing an action scene.
Engineers are interested in how objects can stay in balance, and what makes them fall out of balance. Mechanical, aerospace and civil engineers incorporate an understanding of equilibrium when they design safe structures. Bridges, cranes, skyscrapers and space stations in stable equilibrium do not collapse, topple to the ground or implode. And, chemical engineers make sure the chemical reactions of the compounds they create remain in equilibrium.
After this lesson, students should be able to:
- Describe the concepts of equilibrium and center of mass.
- Relate that an object's center of mass is dependent on the composition and structure of the object.
- Identify how equilibrium and the center of mass apply to engineering and everyday life.
- Identify the various ways equilibrium and the center of mass correlate to different fields of research and scientific disciplines.