PS section test 2 #1

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could you possibly post the question?

Originally Posted by eggs13

could you possibly post the question?

The question goes something like this:

There is a pendulum supported by a massless rod inside of a box. As the box accelerates to the right, the pendulum swings to the left and makes an angle theta with the vertical. When there is no acceleration the pendulum rests at an angle of zero (mg = T at this point).

What is the maximum angle of theta assuming that acceleration can go to infinity?

At an angle of 90 with the vertical, there is no vertical component. It's entirely horizontal. This cannot be true because the weight of the ball must be supported by some vertical component. Otherwise the object will fall to the ground. Thus it must be less than 90 degrees.