Question

A helicopter flies over the arctic ice pack at a constant altitude, towing an airborne 137-kg laser sensor that measures the thickness of the ice (see the drawing). The helicopter and the sensor both move only in the horizontal direction and have a horizontal acceleration of magnitude 2.63 m/s2. Ignoring air resistance, find the tension in the cable towing the sensor. Incorrect: Your answer is incorrect.

Answer 1

The value is
`T = 1702.91 \ N`

Step-by-step explanation:

From the question we are told that

The mass of the laser sensor is
`m = 137 \ kg`

The horizontal acceleration of the helicopter and the sensor is
`a = 2.63 \ m/s^2`

Generally the net force on the cable is

`F = T - W = ma`

Here W is the weight of the sensor which is evaluated as
`W = m * g = 137 * 9.8 = 1342.6 \ N`

So

`T - 1342.6 = 137 * 2.63`

=>
`T = 360.31 + 1342.6`

=>
`T = 1702.91 \ N`