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39 votes
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Tiny mass of 67kg and tubby mass of 83 kg are now on the opposite ends of a see saw and are both 1.4m from the balance point where should their sister teeny whose mass is 32 kg sit so the see saw balances

User Abhiram Mishra
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1 Answer

17 votes
17 votes

Answer:

0.7 m between the balance point and Tiny

Step-by-step explanation:

It's intuitive to say she sould be on the side the smaller mass is placed. How far from the balance point?

Let's call x that distance. and assume that the contraption is "oriented" so that being on the side with tiny (and teeny) gives you a positive distance from the balance point, and negative on the other side.

At equilibrium, the sum of all momentums (momenta?) will be zero:


67* 1.4 +32* x + 83 * (-1.4) = 0\\32x -16(1.4) = 0 \rightarrow 2x=1.4 x= 0.7

In layman's term, she has to be halfway between the balance point and Tiny.

User Catalpa
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