Forces and Inclines

Inclined Planes
Objects placed on a tilted surface tend to slide
down the surface
The rate at which it slides will be dictated by
the angle of the inclinegreater tilt = greater
rate of slide
An object that accelerates down an incline
must do so because of unbalanced force in
that direction
 Forces with an inclined surface
There are always at least two forces acting on
an object on an incline
 Normal Force
Normal force will ALWAYS be perpendicular to
the inclined surface
 Weight (force from gravity)
ALWAYS straight down
ALWAYS at an angle with respect to the
inclined surface
 Weight (force from gravity)
The weight can be resolved into two
components.
One component is
aligned parallel to the
inclined surface
One component is
aligned perpendicular
to the inclined surface
 Re-define the Axes!!
For purposes of problem solving, redefine the x-axis
to line up with the inclined surface and the y-axis to
be perpendicular to the inclined surface.
This makes the parallel y
component of the weight FN x
in x direction
This makes the perpendicular Fgx
component of the weight and Fgy
the normal force in the y
direction Fg
A closer look at the weight vector
The angle between the weight vector and the
new y-axis is the same angle as the incline.
y x

Fg
A closer look at the weight vector
The perpendicular component is along the y-
axis and its magnitude is given by:
y x

Fgcos

Fg
A closer look at the weight vector
The parallel component is along the x-axis and
its magnitude is given by:
y x

Fgsin


Fg
 When the angle gets bigger

The force in the direction down the incline gets

larger while the component into the surface
gets smaller
 Example 1 Inclined Plane
A 25 kg crate is sitting at rest on a ramp
inclined at 25 degrees. Find the normal force
and the frictional force acting on the crate.
Then find s between the crate and the ramp.
 Example 2 Inclined Plane
A 4.5 kg object is accelerating down an
inclined plane inclined at 36 degrees and
having a coefficient of friction of 0.548. What
is the acceleration of the object?
 Example 3 Inclined Plane
A 22.7-N block is placed upon an inclined
plane which is inclined at a 17.2 degree angle.
The coefficient of friction is 0.219. Determine
the acceleration of the block if the applied
force of 20.6 N is acting up the ramp.
 Your Turn #1 Inclined Planes
The infamous Lombard Street in San Francisco
has an abnormally steep block which consists
of several tight hairpin turns. On average, the
roadway on this block of the street is inclined
at 16. Determine the force which would be
required to pull a 23-kg wagon and child up
the hill at constant speed. Assume the force is
exerted parallel to the road and that friction is
negligible.
 Your Turn #2 Inclined Planes
Ben Laborin exerts a force on an 86-kg crate of
books to push it up the ramp of the loading
dock at a constant speed of 24 cm/s. The ramp
makes an angle of 12 with the horizontal. The
coefficient of friction between the crate and
the ramp is 0.74. Assuming that Ben is pushing
parallel to the inclined plane, determine the
force with which he is pushing.