A balanced lever has two weights on it, the first with mass 4 kg and the second with mass 32 kg. If the first weight is 5 m from the fulcrum, how far is the second weight from the fulcrum?

1 Answer
Feb 26, 2016

color(brown)("The second weight is 40 metres from the fulcrum")

Explanation:

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The way to compare the two sides for 'Equilibrium' (balanced) is to compare 'moment arms' using force times distance

So we end up with (32xx5) Kgm=(4x) Kgm

Divide both sides by 4 giving:

(32xx5)/4 =x

x= 40 but x is in metres so we have:

color(brown)("The second weight is 40 metres from the fulcrum")