Question

The bolts on the cylinder head of an engine require tightening to a torque of 108Nm. if she is using a wrench that is 30.0 cm long, what force must the mechanic exert to achieve this? How would the force needed to change if she used a 60.0cm wrench

Answer 1

1. 360 N

Step-by-step explanation:

The torque is given by:

`M = Fd`

where

F is the force exerted

d is the distance between the point of application of the force and the centre of rotation

In this problem, we know:

M = 108 Nm is the torque

d = 30.0 cm = 0.30 m is the distance

So, we can re-arrange the equation to find the force exerted:

`F=(M)/(d)=(108 Nm)/(0.30 m)=360 N`

2. 180 N

Step-by-step explanation:

We can use the same formula used for the 1st part of the problem, but this time we have:

M = 108 Nm is the torque

d = 60.0 cm = 0.60 m is the distance

so, the force needed to be exerted is

`F=(M)/(d)=(108 Nm)/(0.60 m)=180 N`