How Do Reaction Forces Change as a Man Walks Across a Beam?

[lemon]

1. A man of mass 75kg walks along the beam shown in the attached file, of length 5m and mass 100kg, from pivot A to pivot B. Draw graphs showing how the reaction forces F_A and F_B vary as a function of the man's position.

Homework Equations

3.I'm not so sure what should be on the axis of the graphs. I need separate graphs for both Reaction Forces. I guess it is distance of man from force on the y-axis. I need to take into account the weight of the beam. Not sure what should go on the x-axis

Please advise

 

[jbsteele]

The x-axis of each graph should be the man's position along the beam, from pivot A to pivot B. The y-axis should be the reaction force, which is equal to the mass of the man times the acceleration due to gravity (9.81 m/s2). So the y-axis should range from 0 to 717.75 N (75 kg * 9.81 m/s2).