Question

he sand is removed and a 1.0- kg -mass block is placed on each cap. (figure 3) after the caps have moved (if necessary) to reestablish equilibrium, is the right cap higher, lower, or the same height as the left cap?

Answer 1

In a typical balance system, adding equal masses to both sides should keep both the caps at the same height if the system was already in equilibrium.

Step-by-step explanation:

Without additional information, specifically a figure showing the positioning of the left and right caps, it is not possible to determine if the right cap is higher, lower, or at the same height as the left cap after placing a 1.0-kg mass block on each. However, if we consider a typical balance scenario like the one described in Figure 1.19 with a double-pan mechanical balance, we can assume that when two equal masses are placed on either side of the balance, and if it was previously in equilibrium, it should remain in equilibrium. Therefore, both caps should be at the same height if the only change made was adding equal masses to both sides.