What Forces Act on a Ladder Against a Wall?

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Homework Help Overview

The discussion revolves around the forces acting on a ladder that is positioned against a wall, forming a right-angled triangle with the ground. Participants are exploring the dynamics involved when a person walks on the ladder, particularly focusing on the forces exerted on the ladder and the interactions with the wall and ground.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Assumption checking, Problem interpretation

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • Participants are attempting to identify the forces acting on the ladder, specifically questioning the existence and nature of horizontal and vertical forces, including friction. There are inquiries about the role of the wall's reaction force and how it relates to the frictional forces at play.

Discussion Status

The discussion is ongoing, with participants sharing diagrams and clarifying their understanding of the forces involved. Some have pointed out the need for clearer representations of the forces and have suggested looking at common statics problems for reference. There is a mix of interpretations regarding the forces acting on the ladder and their implications.

Contextual Notes

Participants are working under the constraints of a homework assignment, which may limit the information they can provide or the assumptions they can make. The discussion includes references to specific diagrams and external resources to aid in understanding the problem.

B4ssHunter
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now imagine a ladder resting on the ground and the wall
such that it makes a right angled triangle
now if someone walks on the ladder , the part of the ladder resting on the wall is going to have a force pulling it down * the weight of the man *
what is the force pushing the ladder horizontally ?
if F1= F
what is the magnitude of F2 ?
is there even going to be an F2 ?
if this is not a smooth surface
can i just describe F2 as friction ? and it would be in the opposite direction

F1 is the force due to the ladder pushing on the wall
 

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What are these F, F1, F2? A diagram would be useful.
 
nasu said:
What are these F, F1, F2? A diagram would be useful.

sry i was just uploading the diagram . my apologies
 
B4ssHunter said:
now imagine a ladder resting on the ground and the wall
such that it makes a right angled triangle
now if someone walks on the ladder , the part of the ladder resting on the wall is going to have a force pulling it down * the weight of the man *
what is the force pushing the ladder horizontally ?
if F1= F
what is the magnitude of F2 ?
is there even going to be an F2 ?
if this is not a smooth surface
can i just describe F2 as friction ? and it would be in the opposite direction

1. This is vague. You need to show in a sketch what you mean by "F1 and F2".

2. This is a rather common problem in statics. Have you tried it yourself? Have you tried looking it up? It took me less than 5 seconds to find this:

http://farside.ph.utexas.edu/teaching/301/lectures/node133.html

Edit: I see a sketch now.

Zz.
 
i just uploaded the diagram , i forgot to upload when i first posted the thread
and mr zapper , i have seen your link , there is only a friction force on the horizontal direction , i mean there should be a force by the ladder , because of there is no force by the ladder on the ground then there should be no friction
 
B4ssHunter said:
i just uploaded the diagram , i forgot to upload when i first posted the thread
and mr zapper , i have seen your link , there is only a friction force on the horizontal direction , i mean there should be a force by the ladder , because of there is no force by the ladder on the ground then there should be no friction

OK, so why can't you add that vertical friction?

Presumably, from the way you responded, you already know how to solve the problem with only the horizontal friction at the bottom of the ladder. What is the difficulty in adding another vertical friction at the top of the ladder?

BTW, you really should show the free-body diagram in full. The diagram you showed doesn't show much of what you've understood in solving this problem.

Zz.
 
ZapperZ said:
OK, so why can't you add that vertical friction?

Presumably, from the way you responded, you already know how to solve the problem with only the horizontal friction at the bottom of the ladder. What is the difficulty in adding another vertical friction at the top of the ladder?

BTW, you really should show the free-body diagram in full. The diagram you showed doesn't show much of what you've understood in solving this problem.

Zz.
i am currently studying general equilibrium of bodies ,
i can solve it with both frictions , but the thing is , how does horizontal friction arise if the ladder does not act with a force on the ground ?
in the link you sent me , as you can see , on the ground , there is a horizontal force of Friction , but on the other hand , there is no other force opposing it , there should be a force caused by the ladder on the ground which caused friction to arise
the only horizontal force that opposes the horizontal friction on the ground is the Reaction by the wall on the ladder denoted by S in the diagram in your link , is this force S what causes friction to arise on the ground ?
if it is , then why would increasing the weight increase the horizontal friction ?
as far as i could tell weight will not affect the Force S which is the reaction of the wall
 
In a free body diagram for the ladder you show only the forces on the ladder. Not on the ground, the wall or other objects. This is what they did in that link.
But there are forces on the wall and on the ground.
Actually what you showed in your diagram are some of these forces and not the ones on the ladder.
 

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