Answer to Twist It Twilla!

 
     Twilla has discovered there's big money in the plumbing trade. Some of the nuts she works with are pretty uncooperative, though! Some days she would like to stopper up their unwashered traps. (I'll let that sink in for a while!) But I digress. 

     The nut on the washbasin isn't cooperating, either. Twilla pulled out her long-handled wrench to get more torque. If she is pulling on the handle with a force of 50 N and the handle is 60 cm long, how much torque is she applying? 

Assuming her pull is at right angles to  and she is pulling on the end of the handle, torque equals the product of her force and the handle length (called the lever arm). So,

T = (F)(l) = (50 N)(0.6 m) = 30 Nm 

 
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