An object with a mass of 18kg is hanging from an axle with a radius of 16cm. If the wheel attached to the axle has a radius of 28cm, how much force must be applied to the wheel to keep the object from falling?

1 Answer
Jul 1, 2018

Force on wheel = 100.8N (in opposite direction)

Explanation:

force due to gravity s 9.8N/kg (=176.4N for 18kg object)

turning moment is force*radius
remember to convert to standard units (metres, Newtons, etc.)

object's turning moment (a.k.a. torque) will be :

M(object)=189.80.16=28.224 Nm

to prevent the axle turning the sum of the moments must be zero

F(wheel)r(wheel)+F(object)r(object)=0

F(wheel)0.28+28.224=0

F(wheel)=28.2240.28=100.8N

the negative value means the force is applied in the opposite direction to that due to the object