Mass of the Spider

Question

The spider is hanging at rest from a thread that has a

tension of 0.10 N. What is the mass of the spider?

Answer 1

Unless specified otherwise, assume the problem at hand is on Earth. ( g = 9.8 m/s^2)

The tension in the thread only exists because there is a spider hanging on it at rest. Thus, the tension is equal to the weight of the spider:

T = W

W = mg

=> T = mg

we want the mass, so algebraically solve for m:

T/g = m

thus, m = (0.1N)/(9.8m/s^2)

= 0.0102 kg -or- about 10.2 g

Hope this helps!