Question

. A 120-pound person is sitting 6 feet from the fulcrum of a see-saw. How far away from the fulcrum should a 108-pound person sit from the fulcrum to balance it?

Answer 1

To balance a seesaw with a 120-pound person sitting 6 feet from the fulcrum, a 108-pound person should sit approximately 6.67 feet from the fulcrum.

Step-by-step explanation:

To find out how far away from the fulcrum a 108-pound person should sit to balance a seesaw with a 120-pound person sitting 6 feet away, we use the principle of moments. In a seesaw, two children of different weights are balanced when the product of the weight and distance from the fulcrum (moment) is equal for both sides. The formula to calculate the balance point is Weight1 x Distance1 = Weight2 x Distance2, where Weight1 and Distance1 are the weight and distance of the first child from the fulcrum, and Weight2 and Distance2 are those for the second child.

Since the 120-pound person sits 6 feet from the fulcrum, we have:

120 pounds x 6 feet = 108 pounds x Distance2.

Now solve for Distance2:

Distance2 = (120 pounds x 6 feet) / 108 pounds = 6.67 feet.

The 108-pound person should sit approximately 6.67 feet from the fulcrum to balance the seesaw.