A 1.00 m long meterstick of mass 0.150 kg is supported horizontally on a knife-edge…
PHYSICS · Multi-part · A Level · Physics · Mechanics and materials · Mechanics and materials
Problem
A 1.00 m long meterstick of mass 0.150 kg is supported horizontally on a knife-edge pivot located at the 0.300 m mark. A small mass m is hung at the 0.050 m mark, and a 0.200 kg mass is hung at the 0.900 m mark. The system is in static equilibrium and the meterstick remains horizontal.
(a) Taking torques about the knife-edge pivot, write an algebraic expression that relates the torques produced by all forces acting on the meterstick.
(b) Solve for the unknown mass m that must be hung at the 0.050 m mark to keep the meterstick in equilibrium.