In the movie Jurassic Park...?

Question

In the movie Jurassic Park, there is a scene in which some members of the visiting group are trapped in the kitchen with dinosaurs outside. The paleontologist is pressing against the center of the door, trying to keep out the dinosaurs on the other side. The botanist throws herself against the door at the edge near the hinge. A pivotal point in the film is that she cannot reach a gun on the floor because she is trying to hold the door closed. If the paleontologist is pressing at the center of the door, and the botanist is pressing at the edge about 6 cm from the hinge, estimate how far the paleontologist would have to relocate in order to have a greater effect on keeping the door closed than both of them pushing together have in their original positions.

Answer 1

Let's assume that they push with the same force.

Torque is the cross product of force and distance; in this case, just F d.

The two torques are

F (6 cm) + F ( 1/2 w )

where w is the width of the door (not given).

If the paleontologist pushing near the center of the door shifts away from the hinges by six inches, the botanist can then retrieve the gun confident that the paleontologist is providing as much torque alone as the two of them were before.

Answer 2

the further away u move from the hinge, the easier it would be...

that's why door knobs are on the other side of the door, b/c it is easier