Re: A 2 ton weight hangs from the end of a 2 foot long horizontal lever

Jake,

For a lever to be in balance, the weight times the distance to the pivot 
must be the same on both sides.  In your problem, a 2 ton weight hangs 24 
inches away from the pivot; the product is 48 ton-inches.  Then, on the 
other side, to balance the lever at 2 inches, you need to divide 48 
ton-inches by 2 inches: 24 tons.

Another way of thinking about it is this: the weight is 12 times closer on 
one side, so the weight must be 12 times larger.  This gives 24 tons also.

Your MAD Scientist,
Raymond Cheong