Question

To balance a seesaw the distance a person is from the fulcrum is inversely proportional to his or her weight. Roger who weights 120 pounds is sitting 6 feet from the fulcrum. Ellen weights 108 pounds. How far from the fulcrum must she sit to balance the seesaw? Round to the nearest hundredth of a root

Answer 1

Answer:

5.4 feet

Step-by-step explanation:

Step 1 : Prepare the data

Roger's weight = 120

Roger's distance from fulcrum = 6 feet

Ellen's weight = 108

Ellen's distance from fulcrum = D

Step 2 : Make an equation to find the unknown

Inverse proportion means that you have to cross multiply.

           Weight                              Distance

              120                                     6

              108                                     D

120 x D = 108 x 6

Step 3 : Solve the equation to find the unknown

120 x D = 108 x 6

D = 108 x 6

        120

D = 5.4 feet

Ellen must sit 5.4 feet far from the fulcrum to balance the seesaw.

!!

Answer 2

Answer:

6.67 ft

Step-by-step explanation:

   Let d = distance

 and w = weight

Then d = k/w

 or dw = k

 Let d1 and w1 represent Roger

and d2 and w2 represent Ellen. Then

d1w1 = d2w2

Data:

d1 = 6 ft; w1  = 120 lb

d2 = ?    ; w2 = 108 lb

Calculation:

6 × 120 = 108d2

       720 = 108d2

         d2 = 720/108 = 6.67 ft

Ellen must sit 6.67 ft from the fulcrum.