A balanced lever has two weights on it, the first with mass 16 kg and the second with mass 14 kg. If the first weight is 2 m from the fulcrum, how far is the second weight from the fulcrum?
1 Answer
Explanation:
Tony B
The beam ends at the points of loading. It is not stated as such
The weight of the beam is discounted. No uniformly distributed load given.
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For the beam to be in equilibrium (balanced and not moving)
All forces and moments cancel out.
Let clockwise moments be positive
Let anticlockwise moments be negative
A moment is
The force of the 'Reaction' has moment arm length of 0. So this cancels itself out giving only:
So for the system to be in equilibrium (not moving)