1.6.10

Measuring Forces

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Measuring Forces

You can use moments to measure the force that a muscle is exerting to lift an object.

Forces exerted by muscles

Forces exerted by muscles

  • Imagine standing up with your upper arm vertical and your lower arm horizontal out in front of you.
    • If you were holding a 1 kg mass in your hand, there would be a force of 10 N being exerted downwards by the mass on your hand.
Moments

Moments

  • Using moments, you can work out the size of the force your bicep is exerting on your forearm to keep your arm still.
  • Anticlockwise moment = clockwise moment.
    • 10 × mass × distance from elbow to mass = force × distance from elbow to bicep
  • Rearranging will then give you the equation;
    • Force of bicep = (10  N×distance  from  elbow  to  mass)distance  from  elbow  to  bicep\frac{(10 \;N × distance \;from\; elbow\; to\; mass)}{distance \;from \;elbow \;to\; bicep}
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