Question

A barge is hauled along a straight-line section of canal by two horses harnessed to tow ropes and walking along the tow paths on

either side of the canal. Each horse pulls with a force of 839 N at an angle of 15° with the centerline of the canal. Find the sum of these
two forces on the barge.
answer in ___kN

Answer 1

1.621 kN

Step-by-step explanation:

Since each horse pulls with a force of 839 N at an angle of 15° with the centerline of the canal, the horizontal component of the force due to the first horse along the canal is F= 839cos15° N and its vertical component is F' = 839sin15° N(it is positive since it is perpendicular to the centerline of the canal and points upwards).

The horizontal component of the force due to the second horse along the canal is f = 839cos15° N and its vertical component is f' = -839sin15° N (it is negative since it is perpendicular to the centerline of the canal and points downwards).

So, the resultant horizontal component of force R = F + f = 839cos15° N + 839cos15° N = 2(839cos15°) N = 2(839 × 0.9659) = 2 × 810.412 = 1620.82 N

So, the resultant vertical component of force R' = F' + f' = 839sin15° N + (-839sin15° N) = 839sin15° N - 839sin15° N = 0 N

The magnitude of the resultant force which is the sum of the two forces is R" = √(R² + R'²)

= √(R² + 0²) (since R' = 0)

= √R²

= R

= 1620.82 N

= 1.62082 kN

≅ 1.621 kN

So, the sum of these two forces on the barge is 1.621 kN