A balanced lever has two weights on it, one with mass #1 kg# and one with mass #4 kg#. If the first weight is # 9 m# from the fulcrum, how far is the second weight from the fulcrum?

1 Answer
Apr 25, 2018

#2.25 \ "m"#

Explanation:

For a balanced lever, we have the following relationship:

#m_1d_1=m_2d_2#

  • #m_1,m_2# are the masses of the two weights

  • #d_1,d_2# are their distances from the fulcrum

And so, we get:

#1 \ "kg"*9 \ "m"=4 \ "kg"*d_2#

#d_2=(9color(red)cancelcolor(black)"kg""m")/(4color(red)cancelcolor(black)"kg")#

#=2.25 \ "m"#