Question

The tune-up specifications of a car call for the spark plugs to be tightened to a torque of 50 N⋅ m . You plan to tighten the plugs by pulling on the end of a 23-cm-long wrench. Because of the cramped space under the hood, you'll need to pull at an angle of 125° with respect to the wrench shaft. With what force must you pull? F=?

Answer 1

F=265.39N

Step-by-step explanation:

In order to solve this problem, we must first draw a diagram of what the problem looks like (see attached picture).

So, in order to find the torque we must use the torque formula:

`\tau=rxF`

or

`\tau=rFsin\theta`

In this case we can either use 125° or 55°, the answer should be the same. So when solving the formula for F we get:

`F=(\tau)/(r sin\theta)`

so we can now substitute values:

`F=(50Nm)/((23x10^(-2)m)sin 125^(o))`

so

F=265.39N