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8.3. Practice Sets: Tension and Compression

Try It!

  1. When a rock is being swung at the end of a rope, the force that will develop in the rope
    is called .
  2. Compression develops in elements, as opposed to tension that develops in flexible elements.
  3. A 20 kg monkey climbs a rope at a constant speed. What is the tension in the rope?

Practice

  1. A crane is supporting a load that weighs [latex]1270 \hspace{.2cm} \text N.[/latex] Find the tension in the supporting cable and the compression of the boom.
    A crane supports a 1270 N load using a boom and cable, showing angles of 27° for the boom and 35° for the cable.

    Answer:

    [latex]T \hspace{.2cm}=\hspace{.2cm}1005\hspace{.2cm} \text N,\hspace{.2cm} C\hspace{.2cm}=\hspace{.2cm}1955\hspace{.2cm} \text N[/latex]
  2. Find the tension in the cable [latex]T[/latex] and the compression [latex]C \hspace{.2cm}[/latex]in the support of the sign shown:
    A sign weighing 1150 N is suspended from a beam supported by a chain and a rod, forming angles of 40° and 30° respectively.

    Answer:

    [latex]T \hspace{.2cm}=\hspace{.2cm}1059.6\hspace{.2cm} \text N,\hspace{.2cm} C\hspace{.2cm}=\hspace{.2cm}937.7\hspace{.2cm} \text N[/latex]
  3. Three monkeys find themselves in a jungle suspended above a chasm by three vines, forming angles of [latex]30°[/latex]and [latex]45°[/latex], with the vertical as shown in the figure. Given that the combined mass of the monkeys is [latex]250 \text{ kg}[/latex], and they are in static equilibrium, calculate the tension force in each of the three vines.
    Three monkeys, with a total mass of 250 kg, hang from three vines forming angles of 30° and 45° with the vertical.

    Answer:

    [latex]T_1 \hspace{.2cm}=\hspace{.2cm}1793.6\hspace{.2cm} \text N,\hspace{.2cm}[/latex] [latex]T_2 \hspace{.2cm}=\hspace{.2cm}1268.1\hspace{.2cm} \text N,\hspace{.2cm}[/latex]
    [latex]T_3 \hspace{.2cm}=\hspace{.2cm}2450\hspace{.2cm} \text N[/latex]

Challenge Question(s)

Try out the two challenge questions below. Turn the card to see the answer. Click on the “next” arrow to progress to the next question.

Text Version of the Challenge Question(s)
  • 1. An object is attached to two wires that make the same angle with the vertical. What is this angle, if the tension in each wire is 0.60 of the weight of the object?
    Answer: [latex]33.6°[/latex]

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College Physics – Fundamentals and Applications Copyright © by Daniela Stanescu, Centennial College is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.

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