If two forces of equal magnitude are applied at opposite ends of a lever arm, wh
Practice Questions
Q1
If two forces of equal magnitude are applied at opposite ends of a lever arm, what is the net torque about the center?
Zero
Equal to the force
Twice the force
Depends on the distance
Questions & Step-by-Step Solutions
If two forces of equal magnitude are applied at opposite ends of a lever arm, what is the net torque about the center?
Step 1: Understand what torque is. Torque is a measure of how much a force acting on an object causes that object to rotate.
Step 2: Identify the lever arm. The lever arm is the distance from the pivot point (center) to where the force is applied.
Step 3: Recognize that there are two forces of equal strength applied at opposite ends of the lever arm.
Step 4: Determine the direction of each force. One force will cause a clockwise rotation, and the other will cause a counterclockwise rotation.
Step 5: Calculate the torque produced by each force. Since the forces are equal and applied at equal distances from the center, the torque from each force is the same.
Step 6: Add the torques together. One torque is positive (clockwise) and the other is negative (counterclockwise). They cancel each other out.
Step 7: Conclude that the net torque about the center is zero because the two torques balance each other.
