A 20 kg ladder leaning against a frictionless wall and resting on a frictionless horizontal surface...?

Question

o keep the ladder from slipping, the bottom of the ladder is tied to the wall with a thin wire. The tension in the wire is 29.4 N. The wire will break if the tension exceeds 200 N.

How far up the ladder can a 86 kg person climb? (Measure along the length of the ladder.)

http://www.webassign.net/tipler/12_63.gif

Answer 1

Admittedly physics - atleast detailed physics - is not my forte, but I would guess not far, since all surfaces are frictionless, and 200N is not much energy.