Nellie weighs 300 N and stands on a pair of bathroom scales. If she leans so that one-third of her weight is on the left scale, what is her reading on each scale?
it must be 2/3 of her weight.
To solve this problem, let's first determine how much weight Nellie puts on the left scale and how much weight she puts on the right scale.
Given that Nellie weighs 300 N, and one-third of her weight is on the left scale, we can calculate the weight on the left scale as follows:
Weight on left scale = (1/3) * Nellie's weight
Weight on left scale = (1/3) * 300 N
Weight on left scale = 100 N
Since the total weight is 300 N and the weight on the left scale is 100 N, the weight on the right scale is the difference between the total weight and the weight on the left scale:
Weight on right scale = Total weight - Weight on left scale
Weight on right scale = 300 N - 100 N
Weight on right scale = 200 N
Therefore, Nellie's reading on the left scale would be 100 N, and her reading on the right scale would be 200 N.