[Math] Finding the tension in two ropes.

trigonometryvectors

I have a problem that says to find the tension in two ropes in the following figure.

enter image description here

The answers are 1830kg in the right rope and 2241kg in the left rope. I'm able to successfully solve the tension in the right rope, but I keep getting 1294kg for the left rope.

Here is how I'm doing it:

v = tension in right rope

u = tension in left rope

Equation 1: $v*cos(60) – u*cos(45) = 0$

Equation 2: $v*sin(60) + u*sin(45) – 2500kg = 0$

Then, from Equation 1, solve for u:

$u = \frac{v*cos(60)}{cos(45)}$

And plug this in to Equation 2 and solve for v:

$v = \frac{2500}{sin(60) + tan(45)*cos(60)} = 1830 kg$

Now that I have v, I use it in Equation 1 to solve u

$u = \frac{1830kg*cos(60)}{cos(45)} = 1294kg$

Any help is appreciated!
Thanks!

Best Answer

Note that $30^\circ$ is the complement of $60^\circ$ $$u = \frac{1830kg\cdot\cos(30^\circ)}{\cos(45^\circ)} = 2241.283kg$$

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