Chapter 11, Problem 11.52P

A Truck on a Drawbridge. A loaded cement mixer drives onto an old drawbridge, where it stalls with its center of gravity three-quarters of the way across the span. The truck driver radios for help, sets the handbrake, and waits. Meanwhile, a boat approaches, so the drawbridge is raised by means of a cable attached to the end opposite the hinge (Fig. P11.52). The draw-bridge is 40.0 m long and has a mass of 18.000 kg; its center of gravity is at its midpoint. The cement mixer, with driver, has mass 30,000 kg. When the drawbridge has been raised to an angle of 30° above the horizontal, the cable makes an angle of 70° with the surface of the bridge. (a) What is the tension T in the cable when the drawbridge is held in this position? (b) What are the horizontal and vertical components of the force the hinge exerts on the span?