A beam of length 3.40 m is carried by three men, one at one end, and the other two supporting the beam between them on a crosspiece positioned so that the load is equally divided among the three men. Find the distance (in meters) between the first man and the crosspiece, assuming the load is equally divided among the three men. Neglect the mass of the crosspiece.

So our professor has been rushing through the last week and I can't seem to find anything like this in my notes. Help please :(

Question

A beam of length 3.40 m is carried by three men, one at one end, and the other two supporting the beam between them on a crosspiece positioned so that the load is equally divided among the three men. Find the distance (in meters) between the first man and the crosspiece, assuming the load is equally divided among the three men. Neglect the mass of the crosspiece.

So our professor has been rushing through the last week and I can't seem to find anything like this in my notes. Help please :(

irishboy123 · Answer

boils down to this.  take moments about the centre of mass....|dw:1430899583425:dw|