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risepj
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Homework Statement
"What is the tension in the string?"
- .5kg block
- Suspended at the midpoint of a 1.25m-long string
- Ends of string attached to ceiling are 1m apart.
Homework Equations
cosθ, sinθ, tanθ
T[itex]_1[/itex][itex]_x[/itex]+T[itex]_2[/itex][itex]_x[/itex]+F[itex]_g[/itex][itex]_x[/itex]=ma[itex]_x[/itex]
T[itex]_1[/itex][itex]_y[/itex]+T[itex]_2[/itex][itex]_y[/itex]+F[itex]_g[/itex][itex]_y[/itex] = T[itex]_1[/itex][itex]_y[/itex]+T[itex]_2[/itex][itex]_y[/itex]- F[itex]_g[/itex] = ma[itex]_x[/itex]
The Attempt at a Solution
My homework is online and immediately verifies whether or not your answers are correct. I was able to solve that the angle the string makes with the ceiling is 36.87°.
From there, I attempted to solve for T[itex]_1[/itex] and T[itex]_2[/itex] as follows:
T[itex]_1[/itex][itex]_x[/itex]+T[itex]_2[/itex][itex]_x[/itex]+F[itex]_g[/itex][itex]_x[/itex]=ma[itex]_x[/itex].
⇔ T[itex]_1[/itex]cos(36.87°) - T[itex]_2[/itex]cos(36.87°) + 0 = 0 (since the force of gravity has no affect on the x-component of the tensions, and the object is not accelerating).
⇔ T[itex]_2[/itex] = T[itex]_1[/itex]cos(36.87°)/cos(36.87°) = T[itex]_1[/itex].
T[itex]_1[/itex][itex]_y[/itex]+T[itex]_2[/itex][itex]_y[/itex]+F[itex]_g[/itex][itex]_y[/itex]=0.
⇔ T[itex]_1[/itex]sin(36.87°) +T[itex]_2[/itex]sin(36.87°)=F[itex]_g[/itex]
⇔ 2T[itex]_1[/itex]sin(36.87°)=F[itex]_g[/itex]
Therefore,
⇔ T[itex]_1[/itex]=.5kg(9.8m/(s2))/(2*sin(36.87°)) = 4.083N.
I've used up all but one of my attempts. Maybe it's because I'm not understanding the wording of the problem. I used up two attempts by guessing T[itex]_1[/itex]+T[itex]_2[/itex] = 8.16/8.17 (I thought that it may be an issue with rounding).
Anyway, if someone could provide some input as to what the problem is asking, I would be extremely appreciative! And it would also be nice to have someone verify that my math and setup of this problem is correct. Thank you so much!
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