- #1
justinh8
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Homework Statement
A man is flying a kite. The string of the kite makes an angle of 50 degrees with respect to the horizontal and exerts a pull of 15 Newtons. A small bird decides to sit on the kite and causes the kite to reach a new equilibrium position with the sting at 30 degrees with respect to the horizontal. Assume that the force exerted by the wind on the kite alone is exactly the same as the force exerted by the wind on the kite and bird together. Calculate the weight of the bird.
The Attempt at a Solution
For this all i did was find the forces in the x direction for both cases and found the delta force so:
Fx1 = 15 N cos50 = 9.64
Fx2 = 15 N cos30 = 12.99
So delta Fx = 12.99-9.64 = 3.35N
So than 3.35N/9.81 = 0.3415kg
It just seems to simple and i think i did something wrong, any insights would be appreciated.