---
title: "A uniform horizontal beam of length \\(L\\) and mass \\(M\\) is attached to a vertical wall by a frictionless pivot at its left end. A light cable connects an anchor point on the wall at a height \\(H = L\\) directly above the pivot to the beam, supporting the beam in static equilibrium. In Configuration 1, the cable is attached to the midpoint of the beam, and in Configuration 2, the cable is attached to the right end of the beam. What is the ratio of the tension in the cable in Configuration 2 to the tension in the cable in Configuration 1, \\(T_2 / T_1\\)?"
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url: "https://nerd-notes.com/ubq/124322/"
date_modified: "2026-09-28T14:04:48+00:00"
---

# A uniform horizontal beam of length \(L\) and mass \(M\) is attached to a vertical wall by a frictionless pivot at its left end. A light cable connects an anchor point on the wall at a height \(H = L\) directly above the pivot to the beam, supporting the beam in static equilibrium. In Configuration 1, the cable is attached to the midpoint of the beam, and in Configuration 2, the cable is attached to the right end of the beam. What is the ratio of the tension in the cable in Configuration 2 to the tension in the cable in Configuration 1, \(T_2 / T_1\)?

A uniform horizontal beam of length \(L\) and mass \(M\) is attached to a vertical wall by a frictionless pivot at its left end. A light cable connects an anchor point on the wall at a height \(H = L\) directly above the pivot to the beam, supporting the beam in static equilibrium. In Configuration 1, the cable is attached to the midpoint of the beam, and in Configuration 2, the cable is attached to the right end of the beam. What is the ratio of the tension in the cable in Configuration 2 to the tension in the cable in Configuration 1, \(T_2 / T_1\)?

![A side-by-side schematic diagram illustrating two configurations labeled Configuration 1 on the left and Configuration 2 on the right. In each configuration, a vertical wall is represented on the left with a vertical line having hatched diagonal shading to its left. A horizontal beam of length \(L\) extends to the right from a circular pivot on the wall. A point on the wall at a vertical height \(H = L\) directly above the pivot is marked with a small circular anchor. In Configuration 1, a straight dashed line representing a cable connects the wall anchor to the top edge of the beam at horizontal distance \(L/2\) from the pivot. In Configuration 2, a straight dashed line representing a cable connects the wall anchor to the top edge of the beam at its rightmost end at distance \(L\) from the pivot. Vertical dimension arrows indicate the height \(H = L\) on the wall, and horizontal dimension arrows indicate the distance from the pivot to the cable attachment point along each beam. No other labels, lines, text, or axes appear.](https://nerd-notes.com/wp-content/uploads/ubq-frq-generated/stem-fig-1-1790604288-QGxqyE.jpg)

- **A.** \(\dfrac{1}{2}\)
- **B.** \(\sqrt{\dfrac{2}{5}}\)
- **C.** \(\sqrt{\dfrac{8}{5}}\)
- **D.** \(\sqrt{\dfrac{5}{2}}\)

*The answer key and step-by-step explanation are available to logged-in users at https://nerd-notes.com/ubq/124322/*