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Topic: Poles and String (Read 301 times) |
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otter
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Poles and String
« on: May 22nd, 2003, 10:47am » |
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A man erects two wooden poles upright in level ground. The top of the first pole is 6 feet 6 inches above the ground and the top of the other is 7 feet 7 inches above the ground. From the top of each pole he ties a string to the other pole at the point where it enters the ground. At what height above the ground do the strings cross?
Supplemental: Does it matter how far apart the poles are?
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ThudnBlunder
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Re: Poles and String
« Reply #1 on: May 22nd, 2003, 11:26am » |
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Are we to assume that the two pieces of string are taut?
If so, it is a 'Two Ladders' problem.
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Sir Col
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Re: Poles and String
« Reply #2 on: May 22nd, 2003, 11:43am » |
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It is in the easy section, in which case... it's 42 inches and, no, the height at the point of intersection is independent of the distance between the poles.
If the strings are not taut, are we dealing with two intersecting catenaries or does the lack of symmetry (due to the points of attachment) interfere with the centre of gravity? I guess that we'd also need to know the length of the string and something about it's elasticity?
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