Question 37 in this slide set talks about a lever resting on a log and placed under a rock so that the lever makes a 45° angle with the ground. In the question, it states in parentheses, "(a tree log 1.00 m away from the rock)"

My class read this wording as meaning that the horizontal distance between the log and the rock is 1.00 meters, which would make the distance from the rock to the fulcrum point on top of the log 1.4 meters. However, the solution presented in the slides uses 1.00 meters as the distance along the lever from the rock to the fulcrum.

Please investigate this problem - thanks

Nick, the intent of this problem was to give all distances measured along the rod, in which case, using 1.00 m is what was used. However, I agree with you and your class that this is not clear. This presentation is currently in revision, and we will add a drawing to this problem to make it clearer.  

Thank you (and your class) for pointing this out.

John

Thanks for getting back to me on this - and thanks for the materials - it is a huge help.