A 10.0 meter chain weighing 39.2 newtons per meter (4.0 kilograms per meter) is lying coiled on the ground.

Question

A 10.0 meter chain weighing 39.2 newtons per meter (4.0 kilograms per meter) is lying coiled on the ground. How much work is done to raise one end of the chain to a height of 10.0 meters so that the chain is fully extended?

Answer 1

Hey Colette,

With a fully-extended chain, one end at 10m and the other at 0m, you will have an average height of 5 meters, right? So you could treat this problem as though you are lifting the entire chain 5 meters. To do that, you just need W = mgh, and you should be able to find the total mass from the given information.

Hope this helps,

Chris