Question

A heavy piece of equipment has wheels on one side and legs on the other as shown in the diagram below.

Two people are trying to move the equipment. Each person grabs a handle and begins to lift. The first person imparts an upward force of 300 N and the second person imparts an upward force of 290 N. This is enough to lift the side of the equipment, but they also need to get it moving.
While maintaining the upward forces, the first person imparts a horizontal force of 185 N and the second person a horizontal force of 205 N. They maintain these forces while the equipment begins to move.

What is the total force in the horizontal direction?
____ N   

What is the total force in the upward direction?
____ N   

Determine the magnitude and direction of this resultant vector (the resultant vector from combining the forces of the two people).

Magnitude: ____ N   

Direction: _____ °   


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Answer 1

9514 1404 393

Answer:

• horizontal: 390 N
• vertical: 590 N
• 707.2∠56.5° N

Step-by-step explanation:

The problem statement tells you the two horizontal forces are 185 N and 205 N. The total horizontal force is (185 +205) N = 390 N.

The vertical forces are said to be 300 N and 290 N. The total vertical force is (300 +290) N = 590 N.

The magnitude of the resultant is the root of the sum of the squares:

  √(390² +590²) = √(152100 +348100) = √500200 ≈ 707.248

The angle of the resultant (relative to the horizontal) is ...

  α = arctan(vertical/horizontal) = arctan(590/390) ≈56.53°

The resultant force is about 707.2 N at an angle of 56.5° above the horizontal.