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Home Minds On Forces in 2D Mission F2D4 Static Equilibrium Analysis Help Help 6

Mission F2D4 Static Equilibrium Analysis

The Question

Suppose you are hanging a picture by two cables in your living room. You are considering three different angle orientations as shown. Which orientation - A, B or C - would result in the least tension (or greatest tension) in the cables?

Define Help

Definition of Equilibrium:
Equilibrium is the condition in which all the individual forces acting upon an object are balanced.

Think About It

If the picture is at equilibrium, then all three individual forces that are acting upon it must be balanced regardless of the angle. A change in the angle will affect the amount of horizontal pull in the cable that in turn affects the amount of tension in the cable. The more horizontally aligned the cable is, the more it will pull horizontally. This increased horizontal pull will increase the tension in the cable.

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