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physicsss
Oct17-04, 01:21 AM
A uniform thin wire is bent into a semicircle of radius r. Determine the coordinates of its center of mass with respect to an origin of coordinates at the center of the "full" circle. (The semicircle is in the positive y plane.)

Tide
Oct17-04, 01:32 AM
What have you done so far?

physicsss
Oct17-04, 02:45 AM
I've tried to integrate sqrt(r^2-x^2) from -r to r, and then divide it by half the area of the circle...

Tide
Oct17-04, 04:56 AM
That's a good start! Instead of dividing by half the area of the circle divide by the diameter of the circle instead:

\bar y = \frac {\int_{-R}^{R} y dx}{\int_{-R}^{R} dx}

Your units would provide a clue!