Step-by-step explanation:
(i) To calculate the mass of the stone, we need to use the principle of moments, which states that the sum of the moments of the forces acting on an object is equal to zero when the object is in equilibrium. In this case, the stone is in equilibrium, so the moments of the forces acting on it must balance.
Let's consider the moments of the forces acting on the system. The weight of the stone acts downwards with a force of mg, where m is the mass of the stone and g is the acceleration due to gravity. The weight of the 10kg mass acts downwards with a force of 10g.
Since the system is in equilibrium, the moments of these two forces must balance. The moment of the weight of the stone about the pivot point (the 2cm mark) is given by the force multiplied by the perpendicular distance from the pivot point to the line of action of the force. Let's call this distance d. Then:
mg x d = 10g x (100 - d)
where we have converted the distance to centimeters to match the units of the other measurements. Solving for m gives:
m = 10(100 - d)/d
We know that the system is in equilibrium when the stone is balanced at the 2cm mark, so the moments of the two forces must balance at this point. Therefore, we can set d = 2cm = 0.02m and solve for m:
m = 10(100 - 0.02)/0.02 = 4990 kg
So the mass of the stone is approximately 4990 kg.
(ii) The mass of the meter stick does not affect the calculation because we are only concerned with the moments of the two forces acting on the system. These moments depend on the magnitudes and distances of the forces, not on the mass of the meter stick. As long as the meter stick is rigid enough to support the forces without bending or breaking, its mass is irrelevant to the calculation of the mass of the stone.