Box 1 with mass 45 kg and Box 2 with mass 84 kg are placed at the left and the right end of a seesaw. The distance from the pivot to each end is 3.0 m. An additional box, Box 3, with unknown mass M is placed on the left side of the seesaw with distance x from the pivot, as shown in the
figure below. The seesaw is balanced (static equilibrium) with these three boxes. In this problem, use g = 10 m/s2 for the acceleration due to
gravity.
45 kg
84 kg
M
Piva
х
1
1
3 m
3 m
(a) What is the torque on the seesaw due to the weight force of Box 1? The weight force can be found by multiplying the mass by g. Include + or -
sign in your answer to indicate the direction. (2 points)
(b) What is the torque on the seesaw due to the weight force of Box 2? The weight force can be found by multiplying the mass by g. Include + or -
sign in your answer to indicate the direction. (2 points)
(c) What is the mass of Box 3, M, if it is placed x = 1.5 m away from the pivot? (3 points)
(d) What is the distance x of Box 3 if the mass of Box 3 is M = 50 kg? (This is a different situation from part c, so the value of x will be different
from part c) (3 points)