Where Is the Center of Mass in a Plate with an Off-Center Hole?

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SUMMARY

The discussion focuses on determining the center of mass of a uniform circular plate with an off-center hole. The plate has a radius of 2R, while the hole has a radius of R, positioned 0.80R from the plate's center. The solution involves using the principle of subtraction rather than integration, treating the removed section as a disc of negative mass. The final answer is to be expressed in terms of R.

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  • Basic knowledge of integration techniques
  • Ability to apply the principle of superposition in physics
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sweatband
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Homework Statement



A uniform circular plate of radius 2R has a circular hole of radius R cut out of it. The center C' of the smaller circle is a distance 0.80R from the center C of the larger circle. What is the position of the center of mass of the plate?

Homework Equations



Hints:
subtraction is to be used
answer expressed in terms of R

The Attempt at a Solution



I believe integration is required to solve this, but I do not know where to begin.
 
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sweatband said:
I believe integration is required to solve this, but I do not know where to begin.

On the other hand, I believe, if you know that centre of mass of a circle is at its centre, you do NOT need to worry about integration: addition (or, 'subtraction' as the hint says) will suffice!

HINT: The portion that has been cut out, you can assume that a disc of negative mass was superimposed in that portion! (Of course, of same magnitude of uniform mass density as the first one.)
 

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