Question

Sally wants to hang up some decorations on the side of her house, so she props up a ladder of length L = 3m against a wall at an angle of θ = 50° with respect to the horizontal. The ground is somewhat icy, where the coefficient of static friction between the ground and the ladder’s feet is µ = 0.55; while the wall of her house can be considered frictionless. If Sally has a mass of 60kg and the ladder has a mass of 80kg, what is the max distance that she can climb up the length of the ladder without it slipping? You may assume the ground is perfectly flat, and the wall is perpendicular to the ground.

Answer 1