A boat is pulled through a canal by horses walking parallel to the canal and exerting a force of 1000 N on a tow rope 40 meters long. If the distance from the boat to the horse track is 15 meters, what is the magnitude of the effective component pulling the boat forward?

Answer 1

f = 1 kN * √(40^2 - 15^2)

Answer 2

Draw the diagram. The force is 1000 cosθ
= 1000 * √(40^2 - 15^2)/40 = 927N

Answer 3

forgot to divide by the 40

oobleck is correct