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In the wheelbarrow of the following figure the load has a perpendicular lever arm of 7.50 cm, while the hands have a perpendicular lever arm of 1.02 m.(a) What upward force must you exert to support the wheelbarrow and its load if their combined mass is 45.0 kg? (b) What force does the wheelbarrow exert on the ground?

(a) In the case of the wheelbarrow, the output force or load is between the pivot and the input force. The pivot is the wheel’s axle. Here, the output force is greater than the input force. Thus, a wheelbarrow enables you to lift much heavier loads than you could with your body alone. (b) In the case of the shovel, the input force is between the pivot and the load, but the input lever arm is shorter than the output lever arm. The pivot is at the handle held by the right hand. Here, the output force (supporting the shovel’s load) is less than the input force (from the hand nearest the load), because the input is exerted closer to the pivot than is the output.

Strategy

Here, we use the concept of mechanical advantage.

Discussion
An even longer handle would reduce the force needed to lift the load. The MA here is:

Reference : OpenStax College,College Physics. OpenStax College. 21 June 2012.
http://openstaxcollege.org/textbooks/college-physics
Creative Commons License : http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

(a) Calculate the buoyant force on 10,000 metric tons (1.00×10 7 kg) of solid steel completely submerged in water, and compare this with the steel’s weight.

(b) What is the maximum buoyant force that water could exert on this same steel if it were shaped into a boat that could displace 1.00×10 5 m ³ of water?

Strategy for (a)

To find the buoyant force, we must find the weight of water displaced. We can do this by using the densities of water and steel given in Table [insert table #] We note that, since the steel is completely submerged, its volume and the water’s volume are the same. Once we know the volume of water, we can find its mass and weight

First, we use the definition of density to find the steel’s volume, and then we substitute values for mass and density. This gives :

Because the steel is completely submerged, this is also the volume of water displaced, Vw. We can now find the mass of water displaced from the relationship between its volume and density, both of which are known. This gives:

By Archimedes’ principle, the weight of water displaced is m w g , so the buoyant force is:

The steel’s weight is 9.80×10 7 N , which is much greater than the buoyant force, so the steel will remain submerged.

Strategy for (b)

Here we are given the maximum volume of water the steel boat can displace. The buoyant force is the weight of this volume of water.

The mass of water displaced is found from its relationship to density and volume, both of which are known. That is:

The maximum buoyant force is the weight of this much water, or

Discussion

The maximum buoyant force is ten times the weight of the steel, meaning the ship can carry a load nine times its own weight without sinking.

Reference : OpenStax College,College Physics. OpenStax College. 21 June 2012.
http://openstaxcollege.org/textbooks/college-physics
Creative Commons License : http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/