The mass of the metre stick is concentrated at its mid-point, i.e., at the 50cm mark. Mass of the meter stick = m' Mass of each coin, m = 5g When the coins are placed 12cm away from the end P, the centre of mass gets shifted by 5cm from point R toward the end P. The centre of mass is located at a distance of 45cm from point P. The net torque will be conserved for rotational equilibrium about point R. $10\times\text{g}(45-12)-\text{m}'\text{g}(50-45)=0$ $\therefore\ \text{m}'=\frac{10\times33}{5}=66\text{g}$ Hence, the mass of the metre stick is 66g.

