A2L Item 186

Goal: Problem solve with rotational dynamics

Source: UMPERG-ctqpe156

A
uniform rod is hinged to a wall and held at a 30° angle by a thin
string that is attached to the ceiling and makes a 90° angle to rod.
The tension in the string is 10N. The weight of the rod is about

  1. 13N
  2. 18N
  3. 20N
  4. 23N
  5. 40N
  6. none of the above

Commentary:

Answer

(4) Some students will use the wrong trigometric function and
conclude that the weight is 40N.

An interesting follow up question is to ask what is the hinge force.
Students often forget that both the sum of the forces and the sum of the
torques must be zero for static equilibrium.