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If the pole vaulter holds the pole as he might at the start of a run, shown in [link] , the forces change again. Both are considerably greater, and one force reverses direction.

Take-home experiment

This is an experiment to perform while standing in a bus or a train. Stand facing sideways. How do you move your body to readjust the distribution of your mass as the bus accelerates and decelerates? Now stand facing forward. How do you move your body to readjust the distribution of your mass as the bus accelerates and decelerates? Why is it easier and safer to stand facing sideways rather than forward? Note: For your safety (and those around you), make sure you are holding onto something while you carry out this activity!

Phet explorations: balancing act

Play with objects on a teeter totter to learn about balance. Test what you've learned by trying the Balance Challenge game.

Balancing Act

Summary

  • Statics can be applied to a variety of situations, ranging from raising a drawbridge to bad posture and back strain. We have discussed the problem-solving strategies specifically useful for statics. Statics is a special case of Newton's laws, both the general problem-solving strategies and the special strategies for Newton's laws, discussed in Problem-Solving Strategies , still apply.

Conceptual questions

When visiting some countries, you may see a person balancing a load on the head. Explain why the center of mass of the load needs to be directly above the person's neck vertebrae.

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Problems&Exercises

To get up on the roof, a person (mass 70.0 kg) places a 6.00-m aluminum ladder (mass 10.0 kg) against the house on a concrete pad with the base of the ladder 2.00 m from the house. The ladder rests against a plastic rain gutter, which we can assume to be frictionless. The center of mass of the ladder is 2 m from the bottom. The person is standing 3 m from the bottom. What are the magnitudes of the forces on the ladder at the top and bottom?

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In [link] , the cg of the pole held by the pole vaulter is 2.00 m from the left hand, and the hands are 0.700 m apart. Calculate the force exerted by (a) his right hand and (b) his left hand. (c) If each hand supports half the weight of the pole in [link] , show that the second condition for equilibrium (net τ = 0) is satisfied for a pivot other than the one located at the center of gravity of the pole. Explicitly show how you follow the steps in the Problem-Solving Strategy for static equilibrium described above.

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Test prep for ap courses

A child sits on the end of a playground see-saw. Which of the following values is the most appropriate estimate of the torque created by the child?

  1. 6 N•m
  2. 60 N•m
  3. 600 N•m
  4. 6000 N•m
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A group of students is stacking a set of identical books, each one overhanging the one below it by 1 inch. They would like to estimate how many books they could place on top of each other before the stack tipped. What information below would they need to know to make this calculation?

Three rectangles with thick blue borders on the bottom, left, and right side and a think black slightly indented line of the right indicate three books. There are two short black vertical lines going down on the left and right of the bottom book with a double-headed black arrow and the label Width below. On the left side of the bottom book are two short horizontal lines with a black vertical double-headed short arrow labeled Depth. The three books are stacked with the second book offset to the right and the third offset even more to the right on the second book. The edge of the second book is marked with a double-headed arrow marked 1” between a vertical line above the left edge of the bottom book and a vertical line above the left edge of the second book.
3 overlapping stacked books.
  1. The mass of each book
  2. The width of each book
  3. The depth of each book
  1. I only
  2. I and II only
  3. I and III only
  4. II only
  5. I, II, and III

(d)

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A 10 N board of uniform density is 5 meters long. It is supported on the left by a string bearing a 3 N upward force. In order to prevent the string from breaking, a person must place an upward force of 7 N at a position along the bottom surface of the board. At what distance from its left edge would they need to place this force in order for the board to be in static equilibrium?

  1. 3 7 m
  2. 5 2 m
  3. 25 7 m
  4. 30 7 m
  5. 5 m
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A bridge is supported by two piers located 20 meters apart. Both the left and right piers provide an upward force on the bridge, labeled F L and F R respectively.

  1. If a 1000 kg car comes to rest at a point 5 meters from the left pier, how much force will the bridge provide to the left and right piers?
  2. How will F L and F R change as the car drives to the right side of the bridge?
  1. F L = 7350 N, F R = 2450 N
  2. As the car moves to the right side of the bridge, F L will decrease and F R will increase. (At exactly halfway across the bridge, F L and F R will both be 4900 N.)
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An object of unknown mass is provided to a student. Without using a scale, design an experimental procedure detailing how the magnitude of this mass could be experimentally found. Your explanation must include the concept of torque and all steps should be provided in an orderly sequence. You may include a labeled diagram of your setup to help in your description. Include enough detail so that another student could carry out your procedure.

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Practice Key Terms 1

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Source:  OpenStax, College physics for ap® courses. OpenStax CNX. Nov 04, 2016 Download for free at https://legacy.cnx.org/content/col11844/1.14
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