Pulling force for Bosun's chair?

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Homework Help Overview

The problem involves a pulley system with a Bosun's chair and a man sitting on it, where the combined mass is 95 kg. The question focuses on determining the force the man must exert to pull himself up at a constant velocity, considering the dynamics of the system and the forces acting on it.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Conceptual clarification, Mathematical reasoning

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • Participants discuss the forces acting on the man and the chair, including gravitational force and tension in the rope. There is an exploration of the implications of constant velocity and the role of the normal force.

Discussion Status

Some participants have offered insights into the forces involved, particularly regarding the tension in the rope and its relation to the weight of the man and chair. There is an ongoing examination of the free body diagram and the interactions between the forces, with no explicit consensus reached yet.

Contextual Notes

Participants are considering the effects of the system's setup, including the assumption of massless ropes and the implications of Newton's third law. The discussion reflects on the need for clarity regarding the forces acting on the man and chair system.

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Homework Statement


A pulley is attached to the ceiling, with a rope going over that pulley and both objects are mass less. At one end of the rope, a Bosun's chair with a man sitting on it is attached, and the man is holding on to the other end of the rope. The man and chair's mass combined is 95 kg. What is the force the man must use to pull himself up at constant velocity?

Homework Equations


F_{net} = m a

The Attempt at a Solution


I first drew all the forces on the system by using the following equations:

Forces on the man and chair
-F_{g} + T = m a

Forces on the other end of rope
F_{pull} - T = m a

Definition of Constant velocity
a = 0

Subbing in the given values will give the notion that the man must pull his own weight to go up, but apparently this is not the answer, so what am I missing?
 
Last edited:
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Theorγ said:

Homework Statement


A pulley is attached to the ceiling, with a rope going over that pulley and both objects are mass less. At one end of the rope, a Bosun's chair with a man sitting on it is attached, and the man is holding on to the other end of the rope. The man and chair's mass combined is 95 kg. What is the force the man must use to pull himself up at constant velocity?

Homework Equations


F_{net} = m a

The Attempt at a Solution


I first drew all the forces on the system by using the following equations:

Forces on the man and chair
-F_{g} + T = m a

Forces on the other end of rope
F_{pull} - T = m a

Definition of Constant velocity
a = 0

Subbing in the given values will give the notion that the man must pull his own weight to go up, but apparently this is not the answer, so what am I missing?
You are missing the fact that if you draw a free body diagram of the chair with the man on it, there are two ropes pulling up on them...one on the man and one on the chair. The tension on each rope must be equal, and the sum of those 2 tensions must equal the weight of the man and chair.
 
There's a rope pulling on the man?
 
The man pulls down on the rope. According to Newton's third law, the rope will pull up on the man with an equal force.

If you imagine a man hanging on to a rope half way up a cliff, you will see this force must exist!
 
Delphi51 said:
The man pulls down on the rope. According to Newton's third law, the rope will pull up on the man with an equal force.

If you imagine a man hanging on to a rope half way up a cliff, you will see this force must exist!

So do you mean:

-F_{g} + F_{n} + F_{pull} = m a
F_{pull} - F_{n} - F_{g} = m a
 
Last edited:
You have already established that a = 0, so if you look at the forces on the man only, it's Ft + Fn - Fg = 0 ( the normal force acts in the same direction as the tension force). But you still cannot find Ft ,since Fn is also unknown. So instead, draw a FBD of the man-chair system, isolating them from the pulley. Then the normal force becomes internal to your system, and does not enter into the equation using Newton 1. Only the rope tensions and the weights act when looking at it this way. Solve for Ft.
 

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