Re: FOX Show

[Jim Green <JMGreen@SISNA.COM>]

At 07:54 10 11 2000 , you wrote:
> I didn't see the show.
>
> What do you mean by "two legs through the pulley?"

My questions have to do with the show  -- not the physics.  In order to
answer one needs to have seen the show, because I can't be sure of the
problem before us.

> It is interesting that "simple machines" are probably stressed in
> middle-school science classes more than at any other academic level... but
> the treatment of pulleys is almost always botched by middle-school science
> teachers who have not had a good college physics course... and that includes
> a lot of teachers.

Yes, but ....

In this case the _kid_ got the answer correct but the _show_ seems to have
made a mistake.

As I recall from the brief glimpse I had the question had to do with the
standard two pulley problem -- I hope someone can verify this:

A cable runs over a pulley suspended from the ceiling down and through a
lower pulley and back up to the ceiling.  The lower pulley holds a  120lb
weight. What is the tension in the cable?

The student said 60lbs and Dick Clark in his aged state said that the
correct answer is 40lbs.

_My_ question is did I see and hear correctly?


Jim Green
mailto:JMGreen@sisna.com
http://users.sisna.com/jmgreen