Question:
You are on a pirate ship and being forced to walk the plank (Fig. 9–68). You are standing at the point marked C. The plank is nailed onto the deck at point A, and rests on the support 0.75 m away from A. The center of mass of the uniform plank is located at point B. Your mass is 65 kg and the mass of the plank is 45 kg. What is the minimum downward force the nails must exert on the plank to hold it in place?
Source: Giancoli, Douglas C., Physics: Principles with Applications, 7th Edition, 2014.
Quick Answer:
$2.4 \times 10^3 \textrm{ N}$
Giancoli 7th Edition, Chapter 9, Problem 28
(2:40)
Comments
what formulas are being used
Hi leopinzon18, for formulas being used are $\tau = Fl_{\bot}$ which says torque equals force times the perpendicular component of the lever arm, and the other formula is that $\Sigma \tau = 0$ for static equilibrium, which is also to say $\Sigma \tau_{ccw} = \Sigma \tau_{cw}$ meaning the counter-clockwise torques equal the clockwise torques. If you have a more specific question, just let me know and I'll see if I can answer it.
Best,
Mr. Dychko