Edexcel M2 2013 January — Question 3

Exam BoardEdexcel
ModuleM2 (Mechanics 2)
Year2013
SessionJanuary
TopicMoments

3. \begin{figure}[h]
\includegraphics[alt={},max width=\textwidth]{ad18c22c-2fc5-4844-99b8-492f758bb24e-05_876_757_125_589} \captionsetup{labelformat=empty} \caption{Figure 1}
\end{figure} A ladder, of length 5 m and mass 18 kg , has one end \(A\) resting on rough horizontal ground and its other end \(B\) resting against a smooth vertical wall. The ladder lies in a vertical plane perpendicular to the wall and makes an angle \(\alpha\) with the horizontal ground, where \(\tan \alpha = \frac { 4 } { 3 }\), as shown in Figure 1. The coefficient of friction between the ladder and the ground is \(\mu\). A woman of mass 60 kg stands on the ladder at the point \(C\), where \(A C = 3 \mathrm {~m}\). The ladder is on the point of slipping. The ladder is modelled as a uniform rod and the woman as a particle. Find the value of \(\mu\).