High School

Charlize Theron and her daughter are on a seesaw in the park. How far from the center must 122 lb Charlize sit in order to balance the 54 lb daughter sitting 7 ft from the center?

Answer in units of ft.

Answer :

Final answer:

To balance the seesaw, Charlize Theron must sit approximately 3.12 ft from the center.

Explanation:

To find the distance from the center that Charlize Theron must sit in order to balance the seesaw, we can use the principle of torque. The torque exerted by an object about a pivot point is equal to the product of its force and the distance from the pivot point. In this case, we need to balance the torques exerted by Charlize Theron and her daughter.

Let's denote the distance from the center that Charlize Theron must sit as x. The torque exerted by Charlize Theron is given by the equation: (122 lb) * x ft = (54 lb) * (7 ft). Solving this equation, we find that x = (54 lb * 7 ft) / 122 lb = 3.12 ft (rounded to two decimal places).