Hello everyone! This is the first problem of the competition discussed in this thread. Please read the rules there for details on scoring and the prize.
Before I go over the first problem, let me clarify the rules and procedures of this competition.
Rules/Procedures:
- Do NOT post your answers or work in this thread, please PM me your answer and work. You will receive TWO chances to answer correctly.
- Within the PM include: Your name, status as a high schooler or recent graduate (yes/no), and whether you had any help answering the question.
- Websites, textbooks, other people, physics professors/teachers, etc. are NOT allowed as resources! You are free to use these resources and submit an answer to see if you were correct (learning new concepts is great!), but you will be disqualified from earning points for any questions you do this for.
Now that the rules have been covered in depth, here is the problem.
Problem 1:
Suppose that you have a steel rectangular SHEET(negligibly thick) with uniform mass distribution, a width of W, and a length of L. This SHEET is placed on a table on Earth. There is negligible friction between the table and SHEET. Calculate the maximum angle(with the table serving as the horizontal) at which the SHEET will tip over and fall If the SHEET is tiled such that its bottom right corner acts a pivot point, P. Use -9.81m/s^2 as the value of g.
EDIT: Some people have messaged me about including a diagram to clarify some details about the problem. I have included one and apologize for not including it earlier.
EDIT2: As pointed out by Gee2, the usage of the word “negligible” in reference to friction is incorrect per the standard definition in physics problems. This did not appear to cause any participants to be confused as to what the question was asking, but please pm me if you feel that you were unable to answer correctly due to this mistake.
