Pull needed for a 100 kg sled up a 15° snow slope (μ = 0.05)

Answer: tension (with friction) = 301.177 N (tension (frictionless) 253.815 N).

What we know

  • Mass: 100 kg
  • Incline angle: 15°
  • Friction coefficient (μ): 0.05

Step by step

Given
m = 100 kg, θ = 15°, μ = 0.05
Formula
T = m·g·(sin θ + μ·cos θ)
Substitute
T = 100 × 9.80665 × (sin 15 + 0.05 × cos 15)
Result
T = 301.177 N

All results

Tension (with friction)301.177 N
Tension (frictionless)253.815 N

Open the incline tension calculator with these numbers → and change any of them.

The physics

A rope pulling a block up a slope has to fight two things: the component of gravity acting down the incline (mg·sin θ) and kinetic friction (μ·mg·cos θ), which also points down the slope while the block moves up. Add them and, for a rope parallel to the surface, T = m·g·(sin θ + μ·cos θ).