Republicofofthethe

Republic Philippines
Philippines
Central Luzon State University
Central Luzon State University
Muñoz, Nueva Ecija
Science City of Muñoz, Nueva Ecija

College of Engineering

ENGR 323
DETERMINATION OF CENTER OF
GRAVITY OF FLOATING BODY
(Laboratory Exercise No. 2)

Submitted by: SUBMITTED BY:

Ryan Jay H. Juan
BSABE 3-1

SUBMITTED TO:
Submitted to:
Engr. Roy Dela Cruz
INSTRUCTOR
I. INTRODUCTION

Archimedes’ principle states that the upward buoyant force that exerted on a body

immersed in a fluid, whether fully or partially submerged, is equal to the weight of the fluid that

the body diplaces and acts on the upward direction at the center of mass of the displaced fluid.

Archimedes’ principle is a law of physics fundamental to fluid mechanics. It was formulated by

Archimedes of Syracuse.

Center of gravity is the point through which the entire weight of the body seems to act

which depends on the shape and mass distribution. Center of gravity of a spherical rubber ball is

at its geometrical center.

When a body is immersed partially or completely in a liquid, it displaces some portion of the

liquid. The center of gravity of that section of fluid is called center of buoyancy which definitely

depends on the shape of the section submerged.

The point at which the weight of the displaced liquid appear to act is the center of buoyancy.

The difference between center of gravity and center of buoyancy is that, center of gravity

pertains to the certain point of a body where it’s weight is concentrated (it doesn’t change at all,

unless you change the body physically), while the center of buoyancy is the point where the

buoyant force acts in the body which is subjected to change whenever the body moves.

In the table below, the formulas for locating the center of gravity of a material are listed.
Table 1: Location of the Center of Gravity of Typical Areas

FIGURE Xg Yg

Rectangle ½ base ½ height

Triangle - 1/3 height

Semicircle 0.424×(radius) 0.424× (radius)

Quarter circle 0.424× (radius) 0.424× (radius)

II. OBJECTIVES

1. To locate analytically the position of the center of gravity of each part of FME-11.

III. MATERIALS / EQUIPMENTS

FME-11 unit (boat) ruler

IV. PROCEDURE

1. We disassembled the vertical weight of the unit.

2. We disassembled the horizontal weight of the unit.

3. We measured the dimensions of these elements using figure 1 as our guide.

Base Left side

Front Horizontal axis

Rear Vertical axis

Right side Rule

 Support of the axis

4. We measured the distance from the geometrical center of each one of the previous

elements to the abscissa axis.

5. We measured the distance from the geo metrical center of each one of the previous

elements to the coordinate axis.

6. We calculated the volume of each element.

VOLUME = Length * Width * Height

7. We calculated the weight of each element using the given density for each type of

material.

WEIGHT = Density * Volume

8. We measured the values of Xg and Yg of each element using the given axis in the front

side the unit (refer to figure 1).

9. We calculated the center of gravity of the unit following the principle of moment of

areas. We used the formula given in computing the Xg and Yg.

X (cm) = ∑ M1X1 / ∑ M and Y (cm) = ∑ M1Y1 / ∑ M\

V. CALCULATIONS AND RESULTS

Table 2: Gathered Data

ELEMENTS Density Length Width Height Volume Weight Xg Yg

(kg/m3) (cm) (cm) (cm) (m3) (kg) (cm) (cm)
Base 1190 34.5 0.5 20.5 3.54×10- 0.42 10.25 17.25
4

Front side 1190 19.5 0.5 7.5 7.31×10- 0.09 9.75 3.75
5

Rear side 1190 19.5 0.5 7.5 7.31×10- 0.09 9.75 3.75
5

Right side 1190 34.5 0.5 7.5 1.29×10- 0.15 10.25 3.75
 4

Left side 1190 34.5 0.5 7.5 1.29×10- 0.15 10.25 3.75
4

Ruler 1395 19.5 2.6 1.5 7.61×10- 0.11 9.75 1.3

5

Support of 1395 3 1.9 2.5 1.43×10- 0.02 1.5 1.25

5
the axis
Vertical axis 7850 45 1 1 4.5×10-5 0.35 0.5 22.5
Horizontal 7850 21 0.815 0.815 1.40×10- 0.11 10.5 0.4075
5
axis

VI. DISCUSSION AND RESULTS

We measured the dimensions of its parts and tabulated them on the table above. Since the

given data are the density and their dimensions of each materials, we have to compute for the

remaining data.

I calculated the volume of each material by multiplying its width by its length, and by its

height and then I converted the answer to cubic meters. The weight is equal to the product of the

density and the volume of the material.

The centroid or the center of gravity is calculated by simply dividing the summation of

moments by the total mass. The other way to find it is by getting the half of the object’s length

and width.

Since some materials have same dimensions, their center of gravity is both located at the

same point in their body, just like the results of the front and rear side, and the left and right side,

where the Xg=10.25 cm and Yg=17.25 cm, and Xg=9.75 cm and Yg=3.75 cm, respectively.
VII. CONCLUSION

In this activity we learned the importance of Archimedes Principles of Buoyancy.

Different bodies have different dimensions, shapes and densities. The point at which the weight

of the displaced liquid appear to act is the center of buoyancy.

These factors affect the location of their centroid. Determining the center of gravity helps

you to identify where their weight is concentrated and the point to balance them. This is an

essential concept when designing different equipment or projects wherein balance is a critical

factor to consider. The ability to determine the center of gravity is very important because it is a

factor that affects the design of a material and for safety purposes.

REFERENCES:

http://www.netfind.com/vertical?s_pt=aolsem&s_it=content&type=content&s_chn=404&s_dto=
p&s_gl=US&q=archimedes%20law%20of%20buoyancy
Date Retrieved: February 28, 2018
https:/ /en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bouyancy
Date Retrieved: February 28, 2018
https://www.britannica.com/science/Archimedes-principle
Date Retrieved: February 28, 2018
https://physics.weber.edu/carroll/archimedes/principle.htm
Date Retrieved: February 28, 2018
http://www.otenmaritime.com/stability/centre-of-gravity-and-centre-of-buoyancy
Date Retrieved: February 28, 2018
https://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/centre-gravity-buoyancy-d_1286.html
Date Retrieved: February 28, 2018