Math Question?

Question

Two men lift a weight of 216 lbs. suspended from a pole 6 ft long carried between them. If the weight is 2.5 ft from one mand and 3.5 ft from the other, how much does each man lift?

Answer 1

My best guess would be a simple ratio calulation:
Let x = the unknown
Let d = the distancefrom weight
Let p = total length of the pole
Let w = total weight

The formula would look something like this:
f(x)=(d/p)w

or in english: (3.5/6) x 216 and (2.5/6) x 216 or 125.28 and 90.72

Answer 2

90 and 126. The torque about the weight is the same for both men, otherwise the pole would rotate. Torque is force times the "torque arm". Since 90 * 3.5 = 126 * 2.5, and 90 + 126 = 216, that's the answer.