In this question use g=9.8g = 9.8g=9.8 m s−2^{-2}−2.
A uniform carbon-fibre beam XY XY\,XY has length 5.6 m and mass 0.6 kg.
A sensor of weight λ \lambda\,λ newtons is fixed to the beam at XXX, and a counterweight of weight 4λ 4\lambda\,4λ newtons is fixed to the beam at YYY.
The beam is held in horizontal equilibrium by a single vertical cable attached to the beam at a point d d\,d metres from YYY.
Show that d=5.6λ+1.68g5λ+0.6g\displaystyle d = \frac{5.6\lambda + 1.68g}{5\lambda + 0.6g}d=5λ+0.6g5.6λ+1.68g.
56 exam-style questions on OCR (MEI) A Level Maths 3.6 Rigid Bodies (A-level only), covering 3.6.1 Moment of a force (A-level only), 3.6.2 Equilibrium of a rigid body (A-level only), 3.6.3 Turning effect of forces (A-level only), and 3.6.4 Weight acting through a point (A-level only). Each one has a worked solution and a mark scheme showing where the marks go.