Question

A balanced lever has two weights on it, the first with mass `14 kg` and the second with mass `9 kg`. If the first weight is `4 m` from the fulcrum, how far is the second weight from the fulcrum?

Answer 1

`18/7 ~~2.57 m`

Explanation:

This is an application of Archimedes' Law of th eLever, which states that when a lever is in balance the ratio of the masses must equal the ratio of the distances from the fulcrum.

If the two masses are `m_1` and `m_2` and the two distances are `d_1` and `d_2` then `m_1:m_2 = d_1:d_2`

`:14 : 9 = 4 : d_2`

`14/9 = 4 / d_2`

`d_2 = (4*9)/14 =18/7 ~~2.57 m`