Question

A car is stranded in a ditch, but the driver has a length of rope. The driver knows that he is not strong enough to pull the car out directly. Instead, he ties the rope tightly between the car and a tree that happens to be 50 ft away; he then pushes transversely on the rope at its midpoint.

a. If the midpoint of the rope is displaced transversely by 3 ft when the man pushes with a force of 500 N (= 50 kg ), what force does this exert on the car?

b. If this were sufficient to begin to move the car, and the man pushed the midpoint of the rope another 2 ft, how far would the car be shifted, assuming that the rope does not stretch any further? Does this seem like a practical method for dealing with the situation?

Answer 1