Torques on a Seesaw: A Tutorial 1 of 8 would cause a counterclockwise rotation of the seesaw. The distance is measured perpendicular to the line of force and is called the moment arm tants Learning Goal Part B To make the connection between intuitive understanding of a seesaw and the standard formalism for torque Find the torque T about the pivot due to the weight w of Gilles on the seesaw This problem deals with the concept of torque, the \"twist\" that an off-center force applies to a body that tends to make it rotate. (Figure 1) Express your answer in terms of L1 and w Figure 1013 ? Submit Previous Answers Request Answer Incorrect: Try Again: 4 attempts remaining Marcel wants the seesaw to balance, which means that there can be no angular acceleration about the pivot. For the angular acceleration to be zero, the sum of the torques about the pivot must equal zero Part C Solution You are correct in answering that the torque is L 1 w. This torque is clockwise and they have considered ccw to be positive. So you need to add a negative sign. Ans: -L 1 w .