Question

BOTH INTERNATIONAL & INLAND What would a vessel towing a barge show at the stern of the tow vessel?

A) two towing lights in a vertical line
B) only a stern light
C) two white lights in a vertical line
D) a towing light above the stern light

Answer 1

To address the physics problem, create a free-body diagram including the forces exerted by two tugboats and resolve these forces into scalar components to find the resultant force on the barge.

Step-by-step explanation:

The question posed relates to two tugboats towing a barge and the forces involved in this scenario. The primary focus of a correct answer would require analyzing the forces exerted by the tugboats and how they contribute to the resultant force that determines the motion of the barge. To find the components of the resultant force, one must resolve the given forces into their scalar components along the axes parallel and perpendicular to the line AB.

In the first part, you'd draw a free-body diagram for the vessel that includes the two forces exerted by the tugboats and any other relevant forces acting on the vessel. Assuming no external forces such as friction or drag, the forces from the tugboats remain the sole contributors to the vessel's motion. For the second problem, using trigonometry, you can calculate the horizontal and vertical components of each force and then combine them to find the total resultant force acting on the barge in both magnitude and direction relative to line AB.