Mechanical Advantage of a seesaw?

Question

Mechanical Advantage of a seesaw? Use your own ratios and measurements. I'm NOT cheating I swear it.

Answer 1

A seesaw is actually a lever.

The equation for a lever is that the total torque (force times distance) to the left of the pivot point (aka fulcrum) is equal to the total torque to the right of the pivot point (aka fulcrum).

F₁ × d₁ = F₂ × d₂

The mechanical advantage is defined as the ratio of the output force to the input force. If F₂ is the output force and F₁ is the input force, then:

F₂ ÷ F₁ = d₂ ÷ d₁

So the mechanical advantage is d₂ ÷ d₁.

For instance, if you had a seesaw where the fulcrum was placed so that one side was three times longer than the other, you could could balance the seesaw by putting a kid who was 50 pounds on the longer side and an adult of 150 pounds on the shorter side.