On a seesaw with sliding seats, a child is sitting on one side and an adult on the other side. Class 9

On a seesaw with sliding seats, a child is sitting on one side and an adult on the other side. Class 9

Question 1.

On a seesaw with sliding seats, a child is sitting on one side and an adult on the other side. The adult weighs twice that of the child. The seesaw however is balanced. Draw a figure which depicts this situation showing the distances from the fulcrum where the child and the adult are seated. Class 9

Answer:

Using the principle of lever: Effort × effort arm = Load × load arm.

Let weight of child = W, weight of adult = 2W. For balance: W × d_child = 2W × d_adult → d_child = 2 × d_adult.

The child must sit at twice the distance from the fulcrum compared to the adult.

Figure description: Draw a horizontal bar (seesaw) with a pivot (fulcrum ∆) at the centre. Child (weight W) sits at 2 units from the fulcrum on the left; Adult (weight 2W) sits at 1 unit from the fulcrum on the right. Balance is achieved because W × 2 = 2W × 1.