Answer:
60 pounds
Step-by-step explanation:
This is a joint variation question.
First, let us declare variables for the parameters. Let the strength of the beam, width of the beam and the thickness of the beam be s, w and t respectively.
Since it is a joint variation, let’s call our constant of proportionality k, the joint variation equation we have will look like;
S = k * w * t^2
Now for our first set of parameters, we can calculate k.
Here, s = 320 pounds , w = 4 inches and t = 2 inches
We plug these values to get k;
320 = k * 4 * 2^2
320 = 16k
k = 320/16
K = 20
Now, we move to the second parameters set;
Here, s = ?, w = 3 inches and t = 1 inch
We plug these values into the original joint variation equation with k = 20
we have;
S = 20 * 3 * 1^2
S = 60 * 1 = 60 pounds