How does increasing the density of a ruler affect its balance?

AI Thread Summary
Increasing the density of a ruler without altering its dimensions affects its balance by potentially causing it to tip, depending on the distribution of mass and the position of any hanging weights. The center of gravity remains unchanged despite the density increase, which means the ruler's balance point is still at its original location. If the ruler is balanced at the 40 cm mark and a mass is adjusted to the left, it may tip away from the mass depending on the specific weights involved. The discussion emphasizes the importance of understanding how mass distribution influences balance. Ultimately, the balance of the ruler is contingent on the interplay between its mass and the applied forces.
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Homework Statement



In procedure 3, you balance the ruler. If the density of the ruler increases without changing its dimensions, the ruler will...

→still be balanced
→be unbalanced, but the direction depends on the hanging mass, the mass of the ruler, and distances
→tip away from m
→tip toward m

In my lab report, it says that I need to balance the ruler at the 40 cm mark and then, adjust the mass to the left to make the ruler balanced.

2. The attempt at a solution

I said that the ruler will tip away from m, contrast to the ruler hung at the center 50 cm mark, but I'm not sure if that is true.
 
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Replace the ruler with massless ruler and an equivalent mass hanging from its center of gravity.
 
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The centre of gravity will not move to another point when its density is increased - look at the formula for calculating the coordinates of the centre of gravity - this is what CWatters suggests in effect just worded differently.
 
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