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Example 4.10 Continued

balance the sum of two forces down the incline: the frictional force (m k mg cos q) and the component of the gravitational force down the incline (mg sin q ). This balance
of forces is shown graphically in the FBD (Fig. 4.28b).

Practice Problem 4.10 Smoothing the

Infield Dirt

smooth it. A groundskeeper is pulling a mat at a constant

velocity by applying a force of 120 N at an angle of 22
above the horizontal. The coefficient of kinetic friction
between the mat and the ground is 0.60. Find (a) the magnitude of the frictional force between the dirt and the mat
and (b) the weight of the mat.

During the seventh-inning stretch of a baseball game,

groundskeepers drag mats across the infield dirt to

PHYSICS AT HOME
To estimate the coefficient of static friction between a penny and the cover of your
physics book, place the penny on the book and slowly lift the cover. Note the angle
of the cover when the penny starts to slide. Explain how you can use this angle to
find the coefficient of static friction. Can you devise an experiment to find the coefficient of kinetic friction?

4.7

TENSION

Consider a heavy chandelier hanging by a chain from the ceiling (Fig. 4.29a). The chandelier is in equilibrium, so the upward force on it due to the chain is equal in magnitude
to the chandeliers weight. With what force does the chain pull downward on the
ceiling? The ceiling has to pull up with a force equal to the total weight of the chain and
the chandelier. The interaction partner of this forcethe force the chain exerts on the
ceilingis equal in magnitude and opposite in direction. Therefore, if the weight of the
chain is negligibly small compared to the weight of the chandelier, then the chain exerts
forces of equal magnitude at its two ends. The forces at the ends would not be equal,
however, if you grabbed the chain in the middle and pulled it up or down or if we could
not neglect the weight of the chain. We can generalize this observation:
An ideal cord (or rope, string, tendon, cable, or chain) pulls in the direction of the cord
with forces of equal magnitude on the objects attached to its ends as long as no external
force is exerted on it anywhere between the ends. An ideal cord has zero mass and zero
weight.

Force on ceiling
due to chain
Force on chandelier
due to chain

Force pulling up
on top of link
Force pulling down
on bottom of link

(a)

(b)

Figure 4.29 (a) The chain

pulls up on the chandelier and
pulls down on the ceiling.
(b) The chain is under tension.
Each link is pulled in opposite
directions by its neighbors.

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Force and Newtons Laws of Motion

A single link of the chain (Fig. 4.29b) is pulled at both ends by the neighboring
links. The magnitude of these forces is called the tension in the chain. Similarly, a little
segment of a cord is pulled at both its ends by the tension in the neighboring pieces of
the cord. If the segment is in equilibrium, then the net force acting on it is zero. As long
as there are no other forces exerted on the segment, the forces exerted by its neighbors
must be equal in magnitude and opposite in direction. Therefore, the tension has the
same value everywhere and is equal to the force that the cord exerts on the objects
attached to its ends.

Example 4.11
Archery Practice
y

Figure 4.30 shows the bowstring of a bow and arrow just

before it is released. The archer is pulling back on the midpoint of the bowstring with a horizontal force of 162 N.
What is the tension in the bowstring?

T
Fa

Strategy Consider a small

segment of the bowstring that
72 cm
touches the archers finger.
That piece of the string is in
equilibrium, so the net force
162 N
acting on it is zero. We draw
the FBD, choose coordinate
axes, and apply the equilibrium
condition: Fx = 0 and Fy =
35 cm
0. We know the force exerted
on the segment of string by the
Figure 4.30
archers fingers. That segment
The force applied to the
is also pulled on each end by
bowstring by an archer.
the tension in the string. Can
we assume the tension in the string is the same everywhere?
The weight of the string is small compared to the other
forces acting on it. The archer pulls sideways on the bowstring, exerting little or no tangential force, so we can
assume the tension is the same everywhere.
Solution Figure 4.31a is a free-body diagram for the
segment of bowstring being considered. The forces are
labeled with their magnitudes: Fa for the force applied by
the archers finger and T for each of the tension forces.
Figure 4.31b shows these three forces adding to zero.
From this sketch, we expect the tension T to be roughly
the same as Fa. We choose the x-axis to the right and the
y-axis upward. To find the components of the forces due
to tension in the string, we draw a triangle (Fig. 4.31c).
From the measurements given, we can find the angle q.
opposite
35 cm
sin q =

=

= 0.486
hypotenuse 72 cm
q = sin1 0.486 = 29.1
The x-component of the tension force exerted on the
upper end of the segment is
Fx = T sin q

72 cm

y
T

(a)

Fa

35 cm

(b)

x
(c)

Figure 4.31
(a) Free-body diagram for a point on the bowstring with the
magnitudes of the forces labeled. (b) Graphical addition of the
three forces showing that the sum is zero. (c) The angle q is
used to find the x- and y-components of the forces exerted at
each end of the bowstring.

The x-component of the force exerted on the lower end of

the string is the same. Therefore,

Fx = 2T sin q + Fa = 0
Solving for T,
Fa
162 N
T =


=

= 170 N
2 sin q 2 0.486

Discussion The tension is only slightly larger than Fa,

a reasonable result given the picture of graphical vector
addition in Fig. 4.31b.
In this problem, only the x-components of the forces
had to be used. The y-components must also add to zero.
At the upper end of the string, the y-component of the
force exerted by the bow is +T cos q , while at the lower
end it is T cos q. Therefore, Fy = 0.
The expression T = Fa /(2 sin q ) can be evaluated for
limiting values of q to make sure that the expression is
correct. As q approaches 90, the tension approaches
Fa
1


=

Fa
2 sin 90 2
That is correct because the archer would be pulling to the
right with a force Fa, while each side of the bowstring
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4.7

Tension

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Example 4.11 Continued

would pull to the left with a force of magnitude T. For

1
equilibrium, Fa = 2T or T =
2
Fa.
As q gets smaller, sin q decreases and the tension
increases (for a fixed value of Fa). That agrees with our
intuition. The larger the tension, the smaller the angle the
string needs to make in order to supply the necessary horizontal force.

Practice Problem 4.11 Tightrope Practice

Jorge decides to rig up a tightrope in the backyard so his
children can develop a good sense of balance (Fig. 4.32).
For safety reasons, he positions a horizontal cable only
0.60 m above the ground. If the 6.00-m-long cable sags
by 0.12 m from its taut horizontal position when Denisha
(weight 250 N) is standing on the middle of it, what is the
tension in the cable? Ignore the weight of the cable.

6.00 m
Eyebolt

0.12 m
250 N

Figure 4.32
Tightrope for balancing practice.

Tensile Forces in the Body

Tensile forces are central in the study of animal motion, or biomechanics. Muscles are
usually connected by tendons, one at each end of the muscle, to two different bones,
which in turn are linked at a joint (Fig. 4.33). Usually one of the bones is more easily
moved than the other. When the muscle contracts, the tension in the tendons increases,
pulling on both of the bones.

tendon

muscle

tendon
joint

Figure 4.33 A muscle contracts, increasing the tension in the attached tendons. The tendons exert forces on two different bones.

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Force and Newtons Laws of Motion

PHYSICS AT HOME
Sit with your arm bent at the elbow with a heavy object on the palm of your hand.
You can feel the contraction of the biceps muscle. With your other hand, feel the
tendon that connects the biceps muscle to your forearm.
Now place your hand palm down on the desktop and push down. Now it is the
triceps muscle that contracts, pulling up on the bone on the other side of the elbow
joint. Muscles and tendons cannot push; they can only pull.The biceps muscle cannot
push the forearm downward, but the triceps muscle can pull on the other side of
the joint. In both cases, the arm acts as a lever.

Ideal Pulleys

Making the Connection:

advantages of a pulley

A pulley can change the direction of the force exerted by a cord under tension. To lift
something heavy, it is easier to stand on the ground and pull down on the rope than to
get above the weight on a platform and pull up on the rope (Fig. 4.34).
An ideal pulley has no mass and no friction. An ideal pulley exerts no forces on the
cord that are tangent to the cordit is not pulling in either direction along the cord. As
a result, the tension of an ideal cord that runs through an ideal pulley is the same on both
sides of the pulley. An ideal pulley changes the direction of the force exerted by a cord
without changing its magnitude. As long as a real pulley has a small mass and negligible amount of friction, we can approximate it as an ideal pulley.

Figure 4.34 Using a pulley to

lift an object by pulling down

ward on a rope with force F.

Example 4.12
A Two-Pulley System
A 1804-N engine is hauled upward at constant speed
(Fig. 4.35). What are the
tensions in the three ropes
labeled A, B, and C?
B
Assume the ropes and the
pulleys labeled L and R are
Pulley R
ideal.
C
Pulley L

Strategy The engine and

pulley L move up at constant speed, so the net force

1804 N

on each of them is zero. Pulley R is at rest, so the net force

on it is also zero. We can draw the FBD for any or all of
these objects and then apply the equilibrium condition. If
the pulleys are ideal, the tension in the rope is the same on
both sides of the pulley. Therefore, rope Cwhich is
attached to the ceilingpasses around both pulleys, and
is pulled downward at the other end, has the same tension
throughout. Call the tensions in the three ropes TA, TB, and
TC. To analyze the forces exerted on a pulley, we define
our system so the part of the rope wrapped around the pulley is considered part of the pulley. Then there are two
cords pulling on the pulley, each with the same tension.

Figure 4.35

Solution There are two forces acting on the engine: the

gravitational force (1804 N, downward) and the upward pull

A system of pulleys used to raise a

heavy weight.

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4.8

Applying Newtons Second Law

111

Example 4.12 Continued

of rope A. These must be equal

and opposite (Fig. 4.36a), since
the net force is zero. Therefore
TA = 1804 N.
The FBD for pulley L
(Fig. 4.36b) shows rope A
pulling down with a force of
magnitude TA and rope C
pulling upward on each side.
The rope has the same tension throughout, so all forces

labeled TC in Fig. 4.36b,c have the same magnitude. For

the net force to equal zero,
2TC = TA

C
Pulley L
A

1804 N

TA

TC

TC

TB

Pulley L

(a)

Pulley R

TA

(b)

Pulley R

TC

TC

(c)

TC =
2
TA = 902.0 N
Figure 4.36c is the FBD for pulley R. Rope B pulls
upward on it with a force of magnitude TB. On each side
of the pulley, rope C pulls downward. For the net force to
equal zero,
TB = 2TC = 1804 N

Discussion The engine is raised by pulling down on a

ropethe pulleys change the direction of the applied
force needed to lift the engine. In this case they also
change the magnitude of the required force. They do that
by making the rope pull up on the engine twice, so the
person pulling the rope only needs to exert a force equal
to half the engines weight.

Practice Problem 4.12 System of Ropes,

Pulleys, and Engine
Consider the entire collection of ropes, pulleys, and the
engine to be a single system. Draw the FBD for this system and show that the net force on the system is zero.
[Hint: Remember that only forces exerted by objects
external to the system are included in the FBD.]

Figure 4.36
(a) Free-body diagram for the engine. (b) Free-body diagram
for pulley L and (c) free-body diagram for pulley R.

4.8

APPLYING NEWTONS SECOND LAW

We can now apply Newtons second law to a great variety of situations involving the
forces we have encountered so fargravity, contact forces, and tension. The following
steps are helpful in most problems that involve Newtons second law.
Problem-Solving Strategy for Newtons Second Law

Decide what objects will have Newtons second law applied to them.
Identify all the external forces acting on that object.
Draw a free-body diagram to show all the forces acting on the object.
Choose a coordinate system. If the direction of the net force is known, choose
axes so that the net force (and the acceleration) are along one of the axes.
Find the net force by adding the forces as vectors.
Use Newtons second law to relate the net force to the acceleration.
Relate the acceleration to the change in the velocity vector during a time interval
of interest.