In: Physics
A 3.4 kg box rests on a 17 degree inclined plane. How much of its weight is pulling it down the ramp? How much of its weight is directed perpendicularly to the ramp?
The weight due to gravity of the box in question will be
The component weight pulling it down the ramp will act parallel to the inclined surface of the ramp.
The component of weight directed perpendicular to the ramp will be,well, perpendicular to the ramp.
The total weight, which is the resultant of these two components, will act vertically downward.
This is depicted in the below diagram.
From trigonometry, we can see that the component parallel to the slope makes an angle of with the main weight vector.
Therefore, the component of the weight parallel to the slope is
We can also that the component perpendicular to the ramp makes an angle of with main weight vector.
Therefore, the component of the weight perpendicular to the slope is
Now, we can put our values for and .