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?

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Answer 1 · 2018-04-25T01:04:16

#2.25 \ "m"#

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"#