- #1
bboytymee
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Homework Statement
Just took my finals and there was one problem that bugged me, I have done these types of problems multiple times and understand it well but this particular problem seems like there isn't enough information.
There is a massless beam being held against a wall by a massless string. A 2000N mass is attached to the end of the beam. The beam is L meters in lenght. The distance from the string on the wall to the end of the beam touching the wall is L. The beam is θ degrees above the horizontal.
a) Find the tension in the string
b) Find the angle θ
c) Find the horizontal and vertical force being exerted on the massless beam by the wall.
Basically the only value you have is 2000N, and you know that the distance of the beam and the distance of the wall is equal, and therefore it forms an isosceles triangle.
I couldn't find a picture of the problem but the set up is similar to this
http://s3.amazonaws.com/answer-board-image/cddfc98e-12fc-48cb-9ef4-c645d675f561.jpeg
except the bar is tilted at angle θ, the length of the bar is L.
Homework Equations
τ=Flcosθ
The Attempt at a Solution
I understand the equations and isolation of systems completely, the only thing that is restricting me from solving the problem is finding the value of θ so I was wondering if anyone who is really good at trig could help.