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Forces and Equilibrium Questions

The document contains two physics questions about forces and equilibrium. Question 1 involves calculating the normal and horizontal forces on a stationary trolley. Question 2 shows a circus performer on a high wire with forces acting on them. It asks the reader to draw a force diagram, calculate the tensions in the cables, and explain whether shortening the cable would reduce tension. The answers show working to calculate the normal reaction is 3.75 N and horizontal force is 1.59 N for question 1. For question 2, it gives the tensions as T1 = 590 N and T2 = 780 N, and explains that shortening the cable would increase, not decrease, tension since the vertical force must remain the same.

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Ishwarya Sivakumar
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6K views

Forces and Equilibrium Questions

The document contains two physics questions about forces and equilibrium. Question 1 involves calculating the normal and horizontal forces on a stationary trolley. Question 2 shows a circus performer on a high wire with forces acting on them. It asks the reader to draw a force diagram, calculate the tensions in the cables, and explain whether shortening the cable would reduce tension. The answers show working to calculate the normal reaction is 3.75 N and horizontal force is 1.59 N for question 1. For question 2, it gives the tensions as T1 = 590 N and T2 = 780 N, and explains that shortening the cable would increase, not decrease, tension since the vertical force must remain the same.

Uploaded by

Ishwarya Sivakumar
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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TAP 202- 5: questions on forces and equilibrium

The weight of the trolley in the diagram is 3.4 N. The trolley is not moving.

N
F

25

3.4 N

Calculate
(a) the normal reaction, N, and
(b) the horizontal force, F.

The diagram below shows a circus performer in a high-wire act.

(a) The total mass of the performer plus props is 76.5 kg. Using a scale of 1 cm to 100 N,
draw a vector triangle to show the forces acting on the performer.
(b) Use your diagram to find the tensions T 1 and T2 in the cable.
(c) A member of the audience is worried that the cable might break, and thinks that this would
be less likely to happen if the cable were shorter so that it did not sag so much.
Explain, with the aid of a diagram, whether this would really reduce the tension in the cable.

Answers and worked solutions


1
(a) N = 3.4 / cos 25 = 3.75 N
(b) F = N cos 65 = 1.59 N

(a) W = mg = 76.5 kg 9.81 N kg

-1

750 N

Scale diagram:

b) T1 = 590 N, T2 = 780 N
(Calculated values are T1 = 585 N, T2 = 778 N. Allow 15 N measured from diagram,
i.e. 1.5 mm.)
(c) The vertical side of the triangle of forces must still be 750 N but the other two sides
will now be longer than before so tension will be increased not reduced

External references
Question 2: This activity is taken from Salters Horners Advanced Physics, AS, Section
Higher, Faster, Stronger, HFS Additional sheets 12 and 13

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