Physics - Tension and Torque

Practice Problems

Problem 1 A 42.0-Newton painting is hung from a ceiling with two strings that hang perpendicular to the ceiling. What is the tension in each string?

Problem 2 A plumber is trying to unscrew one pipe from another with a 10.5 cm (0.105 m) wrench. He pulls straight down on the wrench with all of his might (a force of 645 Newtons), but he cannot unscrew the pipe. He next tries it with a 30.0 cm (0.300 m) wrench using the same force. This time the pipe unscrews quite readily. Examine the two torques applied in order to see why.

Problem 3 Two children are playing on a seesaw. They get a little tired rocking back and forth, so they decide to balance the seesaw. One child weighs 142 Newtons and sits 1.13 m from the center of the seesaw. The other finds that he must be 1.27 m from the center of the seesaw to achieve balance. What does he weigh?

Problem 4 Two cars (2.4 kg and 4.3 kg are tied together with a piece of string. If a child pulls the lead car with a 2.9 Newton force, what acceleration will the two cars experience? What will be the tension on the string?

2011 Laura Glassel lizzietutoring.blogspot.com