A fire helicopter carries a 773 kg bucket at the end of a 25.9 m long cable. When the helicopter is returning from a fire at a constant speed of 40.4 m/s, the cable makes an angle of 37.2 degrees with respect to the vertical.
The acceleration of gravity is 9.8 m/s/s.
Find the horizontal force exerted by air resistance on the bucket. Answer in units of N.
2007-10-09 09:10:36 · 1 answers · asked by lilprincess_2good4u 1 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Physics
Call the force of the air resistance Fa. Call the total tension in the cable T. T has a horizontal component, Th, pulling the bucket throught the air. T also has a vertical component, Tv, supporting the bucket's weight. The components of the tension, Th and Tv, are in equilibrium with the air resistance and bucket weight respectively.
The force of the air resistance, Fa, is in equilibrium with the horizontal component of the tension in the cable holding the bucket.
Fa = Th = T*sin(37.2)
We don't know what the total T is, yet.
The vertical component of the tension, Tv, is holding the bucket up. Therefore
Tv = T*cos(37.2) = m*g
So you can find out the magnitude of T. Then you can use it in the expression for Th.
2007-10-09 10:28:19 · answer #1 · answered by sojsail 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋