Balance-beam weight studies with numeric tables
Graduated beams, a rod hung by cords and a scale pan, worked out through tables of weights.
The sheet is given over to the science of weights. A graduated balance beam carries a scale pan and rows of hanging weights at the top, with further schemes below, a rod suspended by cords and several smaller beams, each accompanied by a table of numbers distributing loads along the arm. Red-chalk underdrawing shows a fuller balance apparatus behind the pen studies.
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Graduated balance beam with hanging weights
A long horizontal beam is graduated along its length and hung with a row of weights beneath a suspended pan. The accompanying table sets out the numbers of units at each division, exploring how loads balance about the arm.
Rod suspended by cords
A lower scheme shows a rod hung from cords, its balance worked out through a short table of figures. It continues the study of how weight is shared between supports along a beam.
Tables of numbers for the weight schemes
Between the drawings Leonardo sets out several grids of numbers, including one scheme resolving to 72 and another to 80, that tabulate the weights and their proportional distribution. They belong to the balance diagrams rather than to any separate calculation.