1.26 Recall that the weight of a body acts through its centre of gravity

An object's center of gravity is where its weight acts from. Different objects will have different centers of gravity. A penguin, for example, has a high center of gravity. A toy that doesn't tip over (what do you even call that?) has a low center of gravity.

The centre of gravity doesn't have to actually be mass per se, for example, in a donut, the centre of gravity in the middle but it is just air. If you drop a donut, it's not going to fall on its side just because it's got a hole in the middle!

To make an object more stable, you can:

• Lower its center of gravity
• Increase its mass at the bottom
• Widen the base

You will notice that the toy thing (that doesn't tip over) has a very wide base and, as mentioned before, has a low center of gravity.

This penguin has a high center of gravity (yes, it is clip art)

This toy has a low center of gravity. (I don't know what they're called)