Forces and laws of motion -- Big gorilla hanging from two vines

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Homework Help Overview

The discussion revolves around a physics problem involving forces and tension in the context of a gorilla hanging from two vines at an angle. The subject area includes concepts from mechanics, specifically relating to forces and equilibrium.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Assumption checking, Problem interpretation

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • Participants discuss the calculation of tension in the vines, with some questioning the use of cosine in the calculations. There is mention of following a teacher's edition solution, and confusion arises regarding the denominator used in the calculations.

Discussion Status

The discussion is ongoing, with participants exploring different interpretations of the problem and questioning the steps taken in the calculations. Some guidance is offered regarding the importance of drawing a free-body diagram to visualize the forces involved.

Contextual Notes

There is a noted discrepancy between the calculated tension and the textbook answer, prompting participants to consider what details may have been overlooked in their calculations. The context includes a specific mass for the gorilla and angles for the vines, which may influence the calculations.

HiReinhardt
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About 50 years ago, the San Diego Zoo, in California, had the largest gorilla on Earth: its mass was about 3.10 × 102 kg. Suppose a gorilla with this mass hangs from two vines, each of which makes an angle of 30.0° with the vertical. Draw a free-body diagram showing the various forces, and find the magnitude of the force of tension in each vine. What would happen to the tensions if the upper ends of the vines were farther apart?
I've been trying 310kg * 9.8m/s2/(2)(cos30)*(cos-30). This gives me 3038/1.5 = 2.03*10^3N. The textbook answer is 1.76*10^3. What detail may I possibly be missing?
 
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Why did you divide by cosine twice?
Also, that's one absolute unit of a gorilla :)
 
I was trying to follow the solution my teacher edition gave. I have no idea where the 2 in the denominator came from either. I finally got the solution by adding (Cos30) + (Cos-30) in the denominator.
 
HiReinhardt said:
I was trying to follow the solution my teacher edition gave. I have no idea where the 2 in the denominator came from either. I finally got the solution by adding (Cos30) + (Cos-30) in the denominator.
Working backwards from the given answer is no way to do these problems. Why not try doing as suggested:
problem statement said:
Draw a free-body diagram showing the various forces,
 
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