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Torque - help3

The amount of torque experienced by an object depends upon the amount of force applied to the object, the direction of the force, and the distance that the line of force is from the axis of rotation.

There are three similar versions of this question. Here is one of the versions:

Version 1:
The three diagrams display the same amounts of force being applied at the same location to the same wrench but in a different direction in an effort to turn a bolt. Rank the three situations according to the amount of torque provided by the force.

When a force is applied to an object in a direction that does not extend through the axis of rotation, a torque is said to exist. In these three diagrams, the axis about which the wrench will rotate is perpendicular to the screen and located at the location of the bolt (in the jaws of the wrench). In the three provided diagrams, the same force is applied at the same location but in different directions.

One way to analyze these situations is to think in terms of the lever arm for the force. The lever arm is the shortest distance between the axis of rotation and the line of force. So consider a straight line extending in both directions through the force arrow; this is the line of force. Then consider a line drawn from the axis of rotation perpendicular to the line of force. The length of this line is known as the lever arm. It will be different for the three situations. The lever arm provides a quantitative measure of how much leverage the force provides in turning the wrench. The longer the lever arm, the more leverage that force provides and the greater the torque. Use the length of the lever arms for the three situations to rank the torques.

Try these links to The Physics Classroom Tutorial for more help with understanding the concept of torque and rotation:

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