Question

A balanced lever has two weights on it, the first with mass `9 kg` and the second with mass `32 kg`. If the first weight is `4 m` from the fulcrum, how far is the second weight from the fulcrum?

Answer 1

The distance is `=1.125m`

Explanation:

The mass `M_2=9kg`

The mass `M_1=32kg`

The distance `b=4m`

Taking the moments about the fulcrum

`M_1*g*a=M_2*g*b`

`32*g*a=9*g*4`

`a=36/32=1.125m`