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plazprestige
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Homework Statement
A 500 N crate is at position A = (45, 70, -115) in a standard xyz coordinate system. Three cables support the crate and have terminal points B, C, D, whose coordinates are (0, 70, 0), (-60, 0, 0), and (45, -65, 0). Calculate the tension force of EACH of the three cables.
Homework Equations
Vector properties
The Attempt at a Solution
My first course of action was to find the component form of vectors AB, AC, and AD (representing the three cables). Respectively, my results were <-45, 0, 115>, <-105, -70, 115>, and <0, -135, 115>.
Beyond this point, however, I don't know how to proceed. In the textbook, there is an example problem involving a camera and a tripod. This example showed the procedure for calculating the supporting force of the tripod legs. However, F1 = F2 = F3 for the example because the legs were of equal length and arranged symmetrically. In this problem, neither conditions apply.
I also tried breaking the problem down by recognizing the net force on the system is zero, but had no luck. This problem is given in the context of a calculus textbook which is just introducing vectors in three dimensions (so no dot-products, cross-products, or calculus is needed to solve the problem).
I would like to know how to solve the problem. I already have the answers.
Thanks in advance!
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