A2L Item 098

Goal: Reasoning with forces

Source: UMPERG-ctqpe154

A uniform rod of length 4L, mass M, is suspended by two thin strings,
lengths L and 2L as shown. What is the tension in the string at the
left end of the rod?

  1. Mg
  2. Mg/2
  3. Mg/3
  4. Mg/4
  5. None of the above

Commentary:

Answer

(2) For many this is straightforward but a few students are confused
about the effect of the unequal lengths of string.