A traffic light of mass hangs at rest from a common point where two light cables meet

PHYSICS · Multi-part · A Level · Physics · Mechanics and materials · Mechanics and materials

Problem

A traffic light of mass

12\,\text{kg}

hangs at rest from a common point where two light cables meet. One cable goes up to the left making an angle of

30^{\circ}

above the horizontal, while the other goes up to the right making an angle of

45^{\circ}

above the horizontal. (i) Draw a clearly labelled free-body diagram of the traffic light. (ii) Calculate the tension in each cable.