Hello and welcome back! This time around I’m going to show you something I learned as a child while watching a TV show called “Mr. Wizard’s World” and has stuck around with me for so many years!
Ever walk along a tightrope or a balance beam? Maybe a slackline? You’ll find that if you shift to the side a little too much your balance will be thrown and you’ll fall. This all has to do with your center of gravity. I’ll explain afterwards what that means, but let’s find how to balance some objects with a cool science trick!
Materials:
One (or more!) of the following:
- Broom
- Smooth stick
- Meter stick
- Tennis racket
- Baseball bat
- Anything like these objects will do just fine
Procedure:
- Place the object on top of your pointer fingers, with each hand at opposite ends of it
- Slowly/carefully moved your fingers toward each other
- When the two fingers meet each other, they will be at the center of gravity – the balancing point!
Explanation:
The center of gravity is a point on any object where there is equal mass on both sides. (Mass can be referred to as weight, but you’ll learn how that can change later.) Notice that if you used a broom like I did, the center of gravity is not in the center, but closer to the bristles. That’s because it’s heavier than the other end, and if the center of gravity has equal mass on both sides of your fingers, there needs to be more “stick” on the other side to balance out the bristles, if that makes sense.
Going further:
Can you do this with other objects? It may be more difficult if the object is small or irregularly shaped. Once you find a balancing point, mark it with masking tape. You can then try stacking several objects on top of each other using those marks.
LOOKING FOR MORE science experiments? Find them here!
About the author:
Steve Davala has been teaching math and science to middle and high schoolers since 2000. He writes books, plays music, carves wood and he loves learning new things. Ask him a question at steve.davala@gmail.com.
