Math Word Problems Demystified - A Self Teaching Guide

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1. Brooke weighs 84 pounds and sits 6 feet from the fulcrum of a seesaw.
   If Mary weighs 72 pounds, how far should she sit from the fulcrum to
   balance the seesaw?


2. At one end of a lever is a 12-pound weight which is 8 inches from the
   fulcrum. How much weight should be placed on the other end 10
   inches from the fulcrum to balance the lever?


3. A person places a lever under an 80-pound rock that is 3 feet from the
   fulcrum. How much pressure in pounds must the person place on the
   other end of the lever if it is 5 feet from the fulcrum to lift the rock?


4. Where should the fulcrum be placed under a 6-foot lever if there is a
   24-pound weight on one end and a 36-pound weight on the other end
   in order to balance the lever?


5. On a 24-foot seesaw Beth, weighing 72 pounds, sits on one end. Mary,
   weighing 90 pounds, sits in front of her 8 feet from the fulcrum. On the
   other side at the end sits Megan, who weighs 80 pounds. Where should
   Tina, who weighs 96 pounds, sit in order to balance the seesaw?

SOLUTIONS:

1. Letx¼the distance Mary should sit from the fulcrum.
   WL¼wl

84 ð 6 Þ¼ð 72 Þx

504 ¼ 72 x

504

72

¼

721 x

72

7 ¼x

Mary should sit 7 feet from the fulcrum.

2. Letx¼the weight placed on the other side of the lever.
   WL¼wl
   12 ð 8 Þ¼xð 10 Þ

178 LESSON 16 Solving Lever Problems