Question

What happens to Center of Gravity (COG) and Base of Support (BOS) in:

1) A toddler is just beginning to walk

2) Someone walking along a sidewalk and encounters a patch of ice

3) A surfer coming down off a wave

4) A tight-rope walker who loses their balance

Answer 1

It is very important for any moving object to be stable and avoid accidents and injuries.

There are many factors which helps in gaining stability while moving like :

1. Center of gravity

2. Base of support

1. Center of gravity : It's the point near or within the body where the entire weight of the body considered to be concentarated. When this point supported, body remains in equilibrium.

2. Base of support :The base of support (BOS) refers to the area beneath an object or person which is in contact with the supporting surface.

When center  of gravity is within the BOS, an object or person is said to be Stable.

When center of gravity falls outside the BOS, the object or person is said to be Unstable.

Hence the smaller center of gravity within the larger base of support gives more stability to the person.

Here are some expamles to know more about COG and BOS.

1) A toddler is just beginning to walk

When toddlers begin to walk, they bend their knees and hips, legs are wide and shoulders apart.

By bending at knees and hips, they lower their center of gravity and wider legs gives them the wider base of support. Lowering the height of center of gravity gives bodies more stabity and wider BOS helps in center of gravity to be with in the base of support.

2) Someone walking along a sidewalk and encounters a patch of ice

When some one walks on the patch of ice the they should lean forward so that their front of leg is in line with the opposite shoulder.

This keeps the center of gravity over front leg and avoid slipping. keeping hands out helps in lowering the center of gravity and by placing feet firmly helps in increasing base of support.

3) A surfer coming down off a wave

Keeping the body in a low, crouched position helps in lowering the center of gravity. Here base of support is area of contact under surfboard. With shoulder forward and keeping steping a leg forward in wider surfboard widens base of support and increases stability.

4) A tight-rope walker who loses their balance

It is difficult to balance on the tight rope as there is very less base of support. A tight rope walker loses their balance when their center of gavity is not above the base of support, here it is a rope.

To balance on a tightrope, it is important to lower the body’s center of gravity toward the rope.Here the tight rope walker should stand up straight and lower their hips by bending their knees. This brings a person's center of gravity closer to the rope and helps him in balancing.