Intro to Calculating Work Video Lessons

Concept

# Problem: Two tugboats pull a disabled supertanker. Each tug exerts a constant force of 1.90×106 N, one at an angle 19.0 west of north, and the other at an angle 19.0 east of north, as they pull the tanker a distance 0.870 km toward the north.What is the total work done by the two tugboats on the supertanker?Express your answer in joules, to three significant figures.

###### FREE Expert Solution

Work done by a constant force:

$\overline{){\mathbf{W}}{\mathbf{=}}{\mathbf{F}}{\mathbf{·}}{\mathbf{d}}}$

Let the positive y-axis point to the north and positive x-axis to the east.

Both angles are measured from the y-axis.

Fy = Fcosθ

Fx = Fsinθ

The x-component point in opposite directions.

92% (67 ratings)
###### Problem Details

Two tugboats pull a disabled supertanker. Each tug exerts a constant force of 1.90×106 N, one at an angle 19.0 west of north, and the other at an angle 19.0 east of north, as they pull the tanker a distance 0.870 km toward the north.

What is the total work done by the two tugboats on the supertanker?