Diana is moving into a new apartment. She wants to get a heavy chair up to her second-floor apartment, but it will only fit through the window.
Diana could strap the chair to her back and climb a ladder straight up to her window.
Or Diane could use a simple machine, by sliding the chair up an inclined plane to get to the window. Which of the following is a disadvantage of using an inclined plane to move the chair, instead of climbing a ladder to get to the window?
A.Diane will have to travel a farther distance to move the chair.
B.Diane will have to travel a shorter distance to move the chair.
C.Diane will reduce the mass of the chair by using an inclined plane.
D.Diane will have to exert more effort force to move the chair.
It's A
Frankly, I think this problem stinks BECAUSE the most ladders are an inclined plane also, although it is not as inclined as the stairway. But I know what the author of the problem is thinking so let's say the ladder is strapped to the wall and the steps go STRAIGHT UP. On a pad, draw a vertical line like this to represent the wall/attached ladder.
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etc.
That line represents the distance you must go if you lift the chair straight up.
Now draw a horixontal line at the bottom like this.
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Now connect the top and bottom with a line forming a triangle. The hypotenuse of the triangle is the distance you would need if you go up the staircase(the inclined plane). Which is longer/shorter? The straight up or the inclined plane. You KNOW the mass of the chair doesn't change. You KNOW the work done in moving the chair is the same.
So what's the answer?
Yeah its A
The correct answer is A. Diane will have to travel a farther distance to move the chair.
To understand why, let's explain the concepts involved:
An inclined plane is a simple machine that consists of a sloping surface. It allows objects to be moved from a lower to a higher position with less force but over a longer distance.
In the case of moving the chair to the second-floor apartment, using an inclined plane means sliding the chair up the slope of the plane. While it requires less force compared to lifting the chair straight up using a ladder, it does require Diane to travel a longer distance since the chair needs to be slid up the inclined plane.
On the other hand, if Diane chooses to climb a ladder with the chair strapped to her back, she would need to exert more force to carry the weight of the chair vertically but travel a shorter distance compared to using an inclined plane.
Therefore, the disadvantage of using an inclined plane is that Diane will have to travel a farther distance to move the chair, making it less convenient and potentially more time-consuming. Thus, the correct answer is A.