Question

A stoplight with weight 100 N is suspended at the midpoint of a cable strung between two posts 200 m apart. The attach points for the cable on the posts are each 15 m above the ground level. The cable is tightened until its tension is 1,000 N. How far is the stoplight attach point above ground

Answer 1

There are 3 forces acting on the stoplight:

• its weight W, with magnitude W = 100 N, pointing directly downward

• two tension forces T₁ and T₂ with equal magnitude T₁ = T₂ = T = 1000 N, both making an angle of θ with the horizontal, but one points left and the other points right

The stoplight is in equilibrium, so by Newton's second law, the net vertical force acting on it is 0, such that

∑ F = T₁ sin(θ) + T₂ sin(180° - θ) - W = 0

We have sin(180° - θ) = sin(θ) for all θ, so the above reduces to

2T sin(θ) = W

2 (1000 N) sin(θ) = 100 N

sin(θ) = 0.05

θ ≈ 2.87°

If y is the vertical distance between the stoplight and the ground, then

tan(θ) = (15 m - y) / (100 m)

Solve for y :

tan(2.87°) = (15 m - y) / (100 m)

y = 15 m - (100 m) tan(2.87°)

y ≈ 9.99 m