How do I find the center of mass using polar coordinates?

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The center of mass for a constant density semicircular plate of radius 'a' can be determined using polar coordinates by integrating over the specified regions. The angle θ ranges from 0 to π, while the radius r varies from 0 to 'a'. The differential area element dA is expressed as r dr dθ. To find the coordinates of the center of mass, one integrates r cos(θ) and r sin(θ) under the assumption of uniform density.

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vadar
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Help! I've been trying to do this for ages, but i know there's some silly little thing I am doing wrong!
Problem, Find the center of mass of a constant density semicircular plate of radius a, using polar co-ordinates, what regions do i use for the double intergral with respect to r and θ?
 
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The angle [tex]\theta[/tex] from 0 to [tex]\pi[/tex], and the radius from 0 to a.

The dA part of the double integration becomes [tex]r dr d \theta[/tex]

You assume uniform density, so you just intgrating [tex]r\cos\theta[/tex] and [tex]r\sin\theta[/tex] to get the coordinates to the centre of mass.
 

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