Question

Gibbons, small Asian apes, move by brachiation, swinging below a handhold to move forward to the next handhold. A 9.0 kg gibbon has an arm length (hand to shoulder) of 0.60 m. We can model its motion as that of a point mass swinging at the end of a 0.60-m-long, massless rod. At the lowest point of its swing, the gibbon is moving at 3.2 m/s?

Answer 1

241.8 N.

Step-by-step explanation:

The force on branch provides a reaction to the ape's weight force plus the centripetal force needed to keep the gibbon in a circular motion of radius 0.60 m.

Centripetal force = mv^2/r

F = mg + mv²/r

F = m(g + v²/r)

where,

m = mass

= 9 kg

g = acceleration due to gravity

= 9.8 m/s²

v = 3.2 m/s

r = 0.60 m

F = 9 * (9.8 + 3.2²/0.60)

= 241.8 N.