Bicycle Tug-Of-War

Use the applet below to help you with the exercises on this page.
Two boys are pulling a crate with their bikes. They have attached ropes from their bikes to an eyemount on the top of the crate. The eyemount has been isolated in the applet above. You can simulate the ropes pulling on it by applying different force vectors.



Suppose that the boys initially cannot decide where to take the crate and are pulling in opposite directions. One is pulling from the right (0o) with a force of 100 N and the other from the left (180o) with 80 N of force. In which direction will the box move?

It is more likely that the boys' bikes are taller than the crate such that their forces are not parallel to the ground. Apply one vector towards the right with 100 N of force at 19o and another vector towards the left with 80 N of force at 167o. Now can you tell whether the box will move towards the left or the right? You can use the SHOW RESULTANT button to find out.

When the forces are not oriented along the same direction how can you tell what the resultant force will be? For the second case above, with how much force will the crate move to the right? How much force will be causing it to move upwards? You can use the SHOW COMPONENTS button if you need help.



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