A barge is hauled along a straight-line section of canal by two horses harnessed to tow ropes and walking along the tow paths on either side of the canal. Each horse pulls with a force of 460 N at an angle of 17° with the centerline of the canal. What is the net force on the barge?
Fn = 2*460*cos17.
To find the net force on the barge, we need to combine the forces exerted by the two horses. Since the forces are given at angles, we can break them down into horizontal and vertical components.
Let's start by finding the horizontal components of the forces:
Horizontal force exerted by the first horse = 460 N * cos(17°)
Horizontal force exerted by the second horse = 460 N * cos(17°)
Now, let's find the vertical components of the forces:
Vertical force exerted by the first horse = 460 N * sin(17°)
Vertical force exerted by the second horse = 460 N * sin(17°)
Since the barge is being pulled along a straight line, the vertical forces cancel each other out, resulting in no net vertical force. As a result, we can ignore the vertical components.
To find the net horizontal force, we need to add the horizontal forces exerted by each horse:
Net horizontal force = (460 N * cos(17°)) + (460 N * cos(17°))
Finally, we can calculate the net force on the barge by using the Pythagorean theorem:
Net force on the barge = √[(Net horizontal force)^2 + (Net vertical force)^2]
Since there is no net vertical force, the net force is equal to the net horizontal force:
Net force on the barge = √[(Net horizontal force)^2]
Plug in the values and solve for the net force.