I am instructed to find the center of mass of a state ( as in astate in the unit

Question

I am instructed to find the center of mass of a state ( as in astate in the united states,   i.e. florida ) so with it being an irregular shape. other than just cuttingout a map of the state and using a plum bob line with varioushanging points, i am kind of lost. i know there is amathematical way to solve this without using scissors  :)   .   there were no other instructions otherthan just to mark the spot on a picture of the state i chose. thank u ahead of time for any and all help i might recieve.

Explanation / Answer

Unfortunately, because the state of Florida is not a niceregular shape like a rectangle (there are some western states thatare rectangular), we cannot use a mathematicalmethod. Your method of cutting out the state of FL with scissors,and then suspending it by a string at multiple points and seeingwhere the strings intersect is the only way to find the CM. A couple of suggestions in doing this procedure.  BEFORE using scissors, use the ENLARGE feature on a photocopymachine to make a big image of the outline of FL.   Then,cut out the big image.   The second suggestion is to paste or scotchtape your cutoutimage to a nice fairly heavy piece of cardboard. Otherwise,it will be difficult or impossible to suspend a flimsy piece ofpaper by a string. hope this helps.

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