Question

Supose that you have a large stone slab with dimensions of 86 cm by 170 cm by 260 cm that has a mass of 10 tons. you want to lift one end of the slab using a lever. You build a lever with a fulcrum that is 10 cm tall, and that uses a beam that is three meters long.

a. without forces, draw a diagram of how this setup would appear with one end of the slab lifted off the ground and the beam horizontal to the ground.

Answer 1

The Stone slab dimensions are 86 cm x 170 cm x 260 cm, 10 cm vertical beam, centered under the slab's shorter edge (86 cm)

The Beam is 3 meters long horizontal beam resting on the fulcrum at one end and raising the other end of the slab. The slab is shown raised at one end, with the corresponding support removed for clarity.

The fulcrum is represented as a small vertical beam centered under the slab's shorter edge. The beam is horizontal, resting on the fulcrum at one end and raising the other end of the slab.

Lever arm of resistance which is the distance from fulcrum to center of mass of the raised part of the slab is 85 cm (0.5 * 170 cm)