The figure shows a claw hammer as it pulls a nail out of a horizontal board. If a force of magnitude 237 N is exerted horizontally as shown, find the force exerted by the hammer claws on the nail. (Assume that the force the hammer exerts on the nail is parallel to the nail).
Answer in units of
N.
Since the hammer is pulling the nail out of the board, the force exerted by the hammer claws on the nail must be greater than the applied force of 237 N.
To find the force exerted by the hammer claws on the nail, we need to resolve the 237 N force into its components.
Since the force exerted by the hammer claws is parallel to the nail, we only need to consider the horizontal component of the 237 N force.
Using trigonometry, the horizontal component of the force can be found as:
F_h = 237 N * cos(25°)
Calculating,
F_h = 237 N * cos(25°)
F_h ≈ 214.658 N
Therefore, the force exerted by the hammer claws on the nail is approximately 214.658 N.