A student is investigating how the forces acting on a bridge vary as the position of a load on the bridge is changed. The bridge is modelled as shown in Fig. 2.1 with two newton-meters providing the support forces. T₁ newton-meter- x A m s T₂ newton-meter [Figure 2.1] A load of mass m is placed at a distance x from support A. The readings of the newton-meters T₁ and T₂ are recorded for different values of x. It is suggested that T₁ – T₂ = mg(s – x) – mgx / s where s is the separation of the newton-meters and g is the acceleration of free fall.