🧩 Puzzle Time: Fun with Forces and Balancing Challenges
Puzzle 1: A seesaw is balanced with a 30 kg child sitting 2 m from the fulcrum. Where should a 20 kg child sit on the other side to balance it?
Use the principle of moments: weight × distance = weight × distance.
Let distance = x; 30×2 = 20×x ⇒ x = 3 m
Puzzle 2: Which exerts more pressure on the ground: an elephant (5000 N) standing on four broad feet with area 1 m² each, or a woman (500 N) standing on heels with total contact area 0.01 m²?
Calculate pressure = force / area for both.
Elephant: 5000 N / 4 m² = 1250 Pa; Woman: 500 N / 0.01 m² = 50000 Pa. ⇒ Woman exerts more pressure!
Puzzle 3: Two friends push a box from opposite sides. One applies 80 N, the other applies 70 N. What is the net force, and in which direction does the box move?
Subtract forces since they're in opposite directions.
Net force = 80 N – 70 N = 10 N; Box moves in the direction of the 80 N force.
Puzzle 4: Why do camels have wide feet while horses do not?
Think about walking on soft sand and pressure formula.
Wide feet reduce pressure by increasing contact area, helping camels walk on sand without sinking.
Puzzle 5: A table has four legs, each of area 0.02 m². If the table weighs 400 N, what is the pressure exerted by each leg on the floor?
Divide total force among four legs and calculate pressure for one leg.
Force per leg = 400 N / 4 = 100 N; Pressure = 100 N / 0.02 m² = 5000 Pa
