A man of mass 61.6 kg stands on a scaffold supported by a vertical rope at each end. The scaffold has a mass of 15.9 kg and is 2.0 m long. Suppose the man stands to the right from the middle of the scaffold that is a distance one sixth of the length of the scaffold. What is the tension in the right rope?
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Perform a vertical force balance and a moment balance about the left rope. You will be left with two equations in two unknowns (the two rope tensions), which you can then solve. The weight of the scaffold acts as if applied at the center, 1.0 m from each end. Remember that when writing the moment balance equation.
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