Finding total weight of a car/ center mass

[wes335]

1. A car has a wheelbase of 9.57 ft. At a weigh station, the driver puts only the front wheels on the scale and measures a weight of 2091 lb. The driver then moves the car and places the rear wheels on the scale and measures a weight of 1930 lb. Find the total weight of the car. Find the horizontal distance from the rear axle to the center mass of the car.



2. Either I'm making this problem way harder than it is, or a I can't find a formula for it.



3. Total weight=2091+1930=4021 lb? Center mass= 4.97766 ft from rear axle.

 

[PhanthomJay]

1. A car has a wheelbase of 9.57 ft. At a weigh station, the driver puts only the front wheels on the scale and measures a weight of 2091 lb. The driver then moves the car and places the rear wheels on the scale and measures a weight of 1930 lb. Find the total weight of the car. Find the horizontal distance from the rear axle to the center mass of the car.



2. Either I'm making this problem way harder than it is, or a I can't find a formula for it.



3. Total weight=2091+1930=4021 lb? Center mass= 4.97766 ft from rear axle.

That looks good. You should round off the distance from the rear axle to the center of mass to 4.98 feet. Looks like you found the right formula.