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Theodore Hodson
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Homework Statement
A uniform ladder of weight W rests with its top against a rough wall and its foot on rough ground which slopes down from the base of the wall at 10 degrees to the horizontal. Resolve, horizontally and vertically, each of the forces acting on the ladder.
Homework Equations
The Attempt at a Solution
Okay so I'm just having some difficulty following this example about coplanar forces from my book.
Looking at the smaller diagrams they drew for splitting R2 and F2 into their perpendicular components, I can't seem to figure out how they knew that those angles would be 10 degrees. I know I need to go back to the original diagram and employ some basic geometrical reasoning, starting from the fact that the ground is inclined at 10 degrees. However, I've been fiddling about with this for a while (drawing on the components on the main diagram, forming right triangles, looking for any parallel lines etc) to try and figure out how those angles would be 10 degrees myself but haven't made any headway. So I'm think I'm going about this the wrong way/not noticing something important.
Any hints/tips to help me on this one would be much appreciated :)