Draw the position diagram, showing the actual suspension
I have a triangle PAQ, so that PQ = 20, PA = 15 and AQ = 25
notice that 15:20:25 = 3:4:5
so the triangle actually is right-angled, with angle P = 90°
Thus PA is vertical, as long as PQ is horizontal, and all the tension
will be in string PA
So the tension in PA is 375N and the tension in string AQ will be 0 N.
Not sure if the author of the question had that in mind, since it makes the
question rather trivial.
A steel wire 40 m long is suspended between two fixed points 20 m apart.
A force of 375 N pulls the wire down at a point 15 m from one end of the
wire. State the tension in each part of the wire.
Texbook answer: 375N, 0N
1 answer