Final answer:
The center of mass of this system is approximately 0.364 m south of the origin.
Step-by-step explanation:
The center of mass of a system can be found by considering the mass and position of each object in the system.
To find the center of mass in this system, we can use the formula:
center of mass = (m₁x₁ + m₂x₂ + m₃x₃) / (m₁ + m₂ + m₃)
where m is the mass of each object and x is the position of each object. Plugging in the values:
center of mass = (2.0 kg * 4.5 m + 3.0 kg * 0 m + 17.0 kg * -1.0 m) / (2.0 kg + 3.0 kg + 17.0 kg)
center of mass = (9.0 kg*m + 0 kg*m - 17.0 kg*m) / 22.0 kg
center of mass = -8.0 m / 22.0 kg
center of mass ≈ -0.364 m
Therefore, the center of mass of this system is approximately 0.364 m south of the origin.