Question

A meter stick is balanced in the middle and has a force of 8 N hanging from the 20 cm mark. What force is required to hang from the 60 cm mark in order to balance the meter stick?

Answer 1

To balance the meter stick, the force required to hang from the 60 cm mark is 2.67 N.

Step-by-step explanation:

To balance the meter stick, we need to determine the force required to hang from the 60 cm mark.

Let's use the concept of torque to solve this problem. Torque is the product of force and the perpendicular distance from the axis of rotation. In this case, the axis of rotation is the midpoint of the meter stick.

Since the meter stick is balanced, the torques on both sides of the midpoint must be equal. Given that the force at the 20 cm mark is 8 N, the torque on that side is calculated as 8 N x 20 cm. To balance this, the torque on the other side must be equal, so we have:

8 N x 20 cm = F x 60 cm

By solving for F, we find that the force required to hang from the 60 cm mark in order to balance the meter stick is 2.67 N.