Free body diagram for all forces

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Homework Help Overview

The discussion revolves around drawing a free-body diagram for a system involving a steel cable and multiple ropes supporting a hanging weight. The focus is on identifying and representing the forces acting at the knot where the ropes connect to the cable.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Assumption checking

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • The original poster attempts to determine the correct orientation of tension vectors T1, T2, and T3 in the free-body diagram, specifically questioning the direction of T3.

Discussion Status

Participants are actively discussing the orientations of the tension vectors, with some confirming that T3 should point downwards. There is an ongoing exploration of the relationships between the forces involved.

Contextual Notes

Participants are working with a visual reference that is not included in the discussion, which may affect their interpretations of the forces. The grading criteria for vector orientation and relative lengths are noted as constraints in the problem.

monsteruf
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Homework Statement


Two ropes are connected to a steel cable that supports a hanging weight as shown in the figure.

Draw a free-body diagram showing all of the forces acting at the knot that connects the two ropes to the steel cable.
Draw the force vectors with their tails at the knot. The orientation of your vectors will be graded. The exact length of your vectors will not be graded but the relative length of one to the other will be graded.

Homework Equations

The Attempt at a Solution


They give me vector T1, T2, and T3. I'm trying to use T1 which is the tension to the left and put it in the direction of the steel cable and the same for T2, but I do not know about T3.

Here is a picture : http://imgur.com/kEPYYle
 
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The third tension comes from the third part of the cable. (There's three parts of the cable connected to the knot.)
 
Nathanael said:
The third tension comes from the third part of the cable. (There's three parts of the cable connected to the knot.)
So it should be pointing down?
 
monsteruf said:
So it should be pointing down?
Yep
 

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