Pulling a Thread Attached to Weight

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Homework Help Overview

The discussion revolves around a scenario involving a weight hanging from a rod, connected by two strings. Participants are exploring the forces acting on the weight when a person pulls on the lower string.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Assumption checking, Problem interpretation

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • Participants are attempting to identify and describe the forces acting on the weight, including tension forces and gravitational force. Questions are raised about how to accurately represent these forces in a force diagram.

Discussion Status

Some participants have provided insights into the forces involved, suggesting that the tension in the strings and the weight of the object must be considered. There is an ongoing exploration of how these forces interact, and a participant has asked for clarification on a specific equation related to the forces.

Contextual Notes

Participants are working within the constraints of a homework problem, focusing on understanding the force diagram without providing complete solutions. There is an emphasis on drawing diagrams to aid in conceptualizing the forces.

Soaring Crane
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Suppose in a scenario a weight is hanging on a string from a rod. There is a second string at the end of the weight:

------rod---------
______|___thread1
------weight-----
-------|---thread 2

Now suppose a person's hand pulls on the bottom string.

How would the force diagram be drawn? There is a force of tension above the weight, but what about the others forces (like the 1 below the weight)? What is going on? Please help with the other force(s).

Thanks.
 
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You're looking for a force diagram for the weight? Well, think about it: the string above the weight is pulling upward. The string below the weight is pulling downward. And there is one more downward force on the weight, but that one should be obvious.

I suppose you're worried about the force of the person's hand? Well, that person isn't pulling on the weight, is he? He's pulling on the string.
 
There is a tension force say T1 in thread one. T1 acts upwards on the weight while its weight force acts down. There is a tension T2 in the thread 2. T2 acts downwards on the mass (incidentally, T2 is the applied force). So the mass is being acted upon by the following forces:

T1 upwards
T2 downwards
W (its weight) downwards.

Hope that helps. Now please go ahead and draw a freebody diagram to understand this. When in doubt, draw a diagram and consider your system sectionwise accounting for all the forces that you can think of.

Cheers
vivek
 
So is F_t2 - F_t1 + mg = ma correct?
 

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