Question

A laboratory on the concept of static equilibrium uses an apparatus called a force table. The force table consists of a round, level platform marked in degree increments about its circumference. In the center of the table sits a massless ring, to which three strings are tied. Each string is strung over a separate pulley clamped to the edge of the platform, and then tied to a freely-hanging mass, so that each string is under tension and the ring is suspended parallel to the table surface.

A mass of m1=0.161 kg is located at θ1=26.5∘ , and a second mass of m2=0.211 kg is located at θ2=287∘ . Calculate the mass m3 and the angular position θ3 (in degrees) that will balance the system and hold the ring stationary over the center of the platform.

Answer 1