A pirate demands that his 75 kg prisoner "walk the plank". The prisoner walks out on an 8.0 m long, 50 kg horizontal board that juts out from the side of the pirate ship. If he walks out and stands 7.5 m from the place where the board is connected to the ship's side, what is the net torque applied to the board?
A) 5500 N·m
B) 7500 N·m
C) 0 N·m
D) 2000 N·m
E) Cannot determine

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The net torque applied to the board is zero because the problem does not provide information about the pivot point or the forces acting at other points on the board, such as support forces or the distribution of the board's own weight. Without this information, we cannot calculate the net torque.

A Pirate Demands That His 75 Kg Prisoner "Walk the Plank