Question

A uniform square of length L = 80 cm has a force F = 60 N applied at one corner parallel to one side of the square. What torque does this produce about the center of the square?

Answer 1

Given,

The length of the side of the square, L=80 cm=0.8 m

The force applied, F=60 N

The distance between the centre and the point where the force is applied is given by,

`\begin{gathered} d=\sqrt[]{0.4^2+0.4^2} \\ =0.16\text{ m} \end{gathered}`

The torque at the centre is given by,

`\tau=F* d`

On substituting the know values,

`\begin{gathered} \tau=60*0.16 \\ =9.6\text{ Nm} \end{gathered}`

Thus the torque about the center of the square is 9.6 Nm