Question

A man uses a rope to haul a box of weight 600N up an inclined wooden plank of effective length 3m and onto a platform 1m high. If in doing so, he exerts a force of 400N calculate;
The fictional force between the case and the plank
The velocity ratio of the machine
The mechanical advantage
The useful workdone

Answers

GPT-4o mini
To solve the problem, we will calculate the frictional force, velocity ratio, mechanical advantage, and useful work done.

### 1. Calculate the frictional force between the box and the plank.

**Given:**
- Weight of the box (W) = 600 N
- Applied force (F) = 400 N

The net force acting on the box along the incline can be represented as:

\[
F_{\text{net}} = W_{\text{incline}} - F - F_{\text{friction}}
\]

Where:
- \(W_{\text{incline}}\) is the component of the weight acting along the incline.
- \(F_{\text{friction}}\) is the frictional force.

**Weight component along the incline:**

To find the weight component acting down the incline, we need the angle of the incline (θ). Since the height (h) of the platform is 1 m and the length of the plank (l) is 3 m, we can calculate θ using the sine function:

\[
\sin(\theta) = \frac{h}{l} = \frac{1}{3}
\]
\[
\theta = \arcsin\left(\frac{1}{3}\right)
\]

Now we can find the gravitational force component acting down the plank. This can be calculated as:

\[
W_{\text{incline}} = W \cdot \sin(\theta) = 600 \cdot \frac{1}{3} = 200 \text{ N}
\]

The net force equation becomes:

\[
F_{\text{net}} = W_{\text{incline}} - F - F_{\text{friction}}
\]
\[
F_{\text{net}} = 200 \text{ N} - 400 \text{ N} - F_{\text{friction}}
\]

Since the box is moving upward, we have:

\[
F_{\text{friction}} = W_{\text{incline}} - F_{\text{net}} = 200 - 400 + F_{\text{friction}} \Rightarrow 0 = 200 - 400 + F_{\text{friction}}
\]
\[
F_{\text{friction}} = 200 \text{ N}
\]

### 2. Calculate the velocity ratio (VR) of the machine.

The velocity ratio is defined as the ratio of the distance moved by the effort to the distance moved by the load:

\[
VR = \frac{\text{Distance moved by effort}}{\text{Distance moved by load}}
\]

- Distance moved by the effort (along the plank) = 3 m
- Distance moved by the load (height of platform) = 1 m

So, we have:

\[
VR = \frac{3 m}{1 m} = 3
\]

### 3. Calculate the mechanical advantage (MA).

Mechanical advantage is defined as the ratio of the load lifted to the effort applied:

\[
MA = \frac{\text{Load (W)}}{\text{Effort (F)}}
\]

Substituting the values:

\[
MA = \frac{600 \text{ N}}{400 \text{ N}} = 1.5
\]

### 4. Calculate the useful work done.

Useful work done (W) is calculated as:

\[
\text{Useful work done} = \text{Load} \times \text{Height lifted}
\]
\[
\text{Useful work done} = 600 \text{ N} \times 1 \text{ m} = 600 \text{ J}
\]

### Summary of Results:

- Frictional force between the box and the plank: **200 N**
- Velocity ratio of the machine: **3**
- Mechanical advantage: **1.5**
- Useful work done: **600 J**