A structural engineer is designing a special roof for a building. The roof is designed to catch
Question:
A structural engineer is designing a special roof for a building. The roof is designed to catch rainwater and hold solar panels to collect sunlight for electricity. Each angled part of the roof exerts a downward force of 50 N, including loads of the panels and rainwater. The building will need a load-bearing wall at the point where each angled roof meets.
a. Calculate the force of the longer angled roof at the point where the roofs meet. (K/U,C)
b. Calculate the force of the shorter angled roof at the point where the roofs meet. (K/U,C)
c. Calculate the resultant force that the load-bearing wall must counteract to support the roof. (K/U,C) d. Use the given lengths and angles to calculate the width of the building. (A)
e. If the point where the 2 roofs meet is moved 2m to the left, calculate the angles that the sloped roofs will make with the horizontal and the length of each roof. Assume that the only point where the roofs meet can be adjusted and that height of each roof will not change. (T/I)
f. Repeat parts a to c, using the new angles you calculate in part e. (A,K/U)
g. Make a conjecture about the angle that the 2 roofs must make with the horizontal (assuming again that heights are the same but the point where the roofs meet can be adjusted) to minimize the downward force that the load-bearing wall will have to counteract. (T/I,C)
h. Calculate the downward force for the angles you conjectured in part g. then perform the calculations for other angles to test your conjecture.