A helicopter flies over the arctic ice pack at a constant altitudetowing an airb

Question

A helicopter flies over the arctic ice pack at a constant altitudetowing an airborne 136-kg laser sensor that measures the thicknessof the ice. The helicopter and the sensor both move only in thehorizontal direction and have a horizontal acceleration ofmagnitude 3.12 m/s^2. Ignoring air resistance, find the tension inthe cable towing the senor.

I'm not even sure where to start. There is a picture that shows thelaser hanging slightly behind the helicopter however there isn't anangle given. Not sure where to go with this one, any help would bemuch appreciated.

Thanks,
Josh

Explanation / Answer

There are two forces acting on the sensor: . The vertical acceleration of gravity = g The horizotal acceleration = a . These form component vectors, and they are perpendicular toeach other. Thanks to Pythagorus, we can solve F = m (g^2 + a^2) F = 1400 N The force is equal to the tension in the rope.

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