Question

Two boys want to balance a seesaw perfectly. One boy weighs 120 pounds and is sitting four feet from the fulcrum. The other boy weighs 80 pounds. Where should the lighter boy sit to balance the seesaw?

Answer 1

Basically a distance multiplied by a weight that is equal to the distance that is going to be multiplied by the weight. (for the equation we will use X for the distance).

equation: 4 x1 20 = ? x 80

Now step one: 4(120) = X(80)  

Or another way is 480 = 80X  

480/80 = X  

48/8= X  

X = 6

I hope this could help! Sorry if it didn't make much sense otherwise!