1.75 m Rope 58.0° 3.75 m

Ancient pyramid builders are balancing
a uniform rectangular stone
slab of weight w, tipped at an
angle u above the horizontal, using
a rope (Fig.). The rope is
held by five workers who share the
force equally. (a) If u = 20.0°, what
force does each worker exert on the
rope? (b) As u increases, does each
worker have to exert more or less
force than in part (a), assuming they
do not change the angle of the rope? Why? (c) At what angle do the
workers need to exert no force to balance the slab? What happens if u
exceeds this value?