Two people are sitting 15 ft. apart on a seesaw. One person weighs 180 lbs. and the other 120 lbs. How far from the 180 lb. person should the fulcrum be placed so that the seesaw balances?

Question

Need steps to solve

Answer 1

let x is the distance from the 180 lbs person the fulcrum will be placed

in order to have a balance it should be 180x = 120(15-x)  {15-x is the distance from the 120 lbs person}

so it will be;  180x= 1800-120x  --->>>  180x+120x = 1800  --->>>  300x = 1800  deviding by 300 both sides

we get;  x=6 feet. So the fulcrum must be placed 6 feet from the 180 lbs person in order to have the balance.