Question

In order to prevent muscle contraction from misaligning bones during healing (which can cause a permanent limp), injured or broken legs must be supported horizontally and at the same time kept under tension (traction) directed along the leg. One version of a device to accomplish this aim, the Russell traction apparatus, is shown in (Figure 1). This system allows the apparatus to support the full weight of the injured leg and at the same time provide the traction along the leg.

If the leg to be supported weighs 43.0 N, what must be the weight of W? Express your answer in newtons
What traction force does this system produce along the leg? Express your answer in newtons.

Answer 1

The weight of W should be 43.0 N and the traction force along the leg is 43.0 N as well.

Step-by-step explanation:

To prevent muscle contraction from misaligning bones during healing, injured or broken legs must be supported horizontally and under tension. The Russell traction apparatus is one such device that supports the weight of the injured leg and provides traction along the leg.

In this case, if the leg to be supported weighs 43.0 N, the weight of W must be equal to the weight of the leg, which is 43.0 N.

The traction force produced by this system is the same as the weight of W, which is 43.0 N.

Answer 2

We can see here that the weight of W is 43.0 N.

The traction force produced along the leg is 86.0 N.

To support the weight of the injured leg and provide traction along the leg, the weight W needs to balance the weight of the leg.

Given that the weight of the leg is 43.0 N, the weight W should be equal to 43.0 N. This ensures that the system supports the full weight of the injured leg without any additional force acting on it.

Regarding the traction force along the leg, it is equal to the weight of the leg plus the weight W. Therefore, the traction force produced by this system is 43.0 N + 43.0 N = 86.0 N.