OpenQA10

course PHY 121

9/8

010. .Force and Acceleration.vvvv

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Question: `q001. If a block of mass 10 kg accelerates at 2 m/s^2, then what net force is acting on the block?

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Your solution: Fnet = m * a, so 10kg* 2m/s^2 = 20 newtons.

confidence rating: 3

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Given Solution: The net force on the block is the product F = m * a of its 10 kg mass and its 2 m/s^2 acceleration. The net force is therefore

• F = 10 kg * 2 m/s^2 = 20 kg * m / s^2.

The unit of force, which is the product of a quantity in kg and another quantity in m/s^2, is just the algebraic product kg * m/s^2 of these two units.

This unit, the kg * m / s^2, is called a Newton.

So the net force is 20 Newtons.

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Self-critique (if necessary): OK

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Question: `q002. How much force must be exerted by someone pulling on it to accelerate a 10 kg object at 2 m/s^2?

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Your solution: Fnet = 10kg *2m/s^2 = 20 Newtons

confidence rating: 3

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Given Solution: This depends on what forces might be resisting the acceleration of the object.

• If the object is accelerating on a surface of some type, then there is a good chance that a frictional force is opposing the motion. In this case the person would have to exert more force than if friction was not present.

• If the object is being pulled upward against the force of gravity, then force must be sufficient to counteract the gravitational force, and in addition to accelerate the object in the upward direction.

• If the object is being pulled downhill, the force exerted by gravity has a component in the direction of motion. The component of the gravitational force in the direction of motion will tend to assist the force exerted by the person, who will as a result need to exert less force than would otherwise be required.

In every case the net force, which is the sum of all the forces acting on the object, must be 20 Newtons, which is the product of its mass and its acceleration. The other forces might act in the direction of the acceleration or in the direction opposite the acceleration; in every case person pulling on the object must exert exactly enough force that the net force will be 20 Newtons.

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Self-critique (if necessary): OK

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Question: `q003. If friction exerts a force of 10 Newtons in the direction opposite the motion of a 10 kg object, then how much force must be exerted by someone pulling on it to accelerate the 10 kg object at 2 m/s^2, with the acceleration in the same direction as the motion?

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Your solution: If we figured that 20 N are required in the above problem, adding 10N of force in the opposite direction means that there must be an opposing 10N of additional force in the positive direction of motion. Therefore, 20+10 = 30 total Newtons.

confidence rating: 3

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Given Solution: Since the 10 Newton frictional force is in the direction opposite to motion, and since the acceleration is in the same direction as the motion, the frictional force is opposed to the accelerating force.

If the direction of motion is taken as positive, then the frictional force will be in the negative direction and can be denoted

• fFrict = - 10 Newtons.

To achieve the given acceleration the net force on the object must be

• net force = 10 kg * (+2 m/s^2) = +20 kg * m/s^2 = +20 Newtons.

In order to achieve the +20 Newton net force when there is already a frictional force of -10 Newtons, it should be clear that a force of +30 Newtons is required.

This result can be interpreted as follows: The person must exert 10 Newtons of force to overcome friction and another 20 Newtons to achieve the required net force.

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Self-critique (if necessary): OK

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Question: `q004. How can we write an equation to solve this problem? Hint: What equation would relate the net force Fnet, the force F exerted by the person and the force fFrict of friction?

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Your solution: Fnet = F + fFrict. 20N = F + (-10) = F = 30 N.

confidence rating: 2/3

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Given Solution: If Fnet is the net force and F the force actually exerted by the person, then

• Fnet = F + fFrict.

That is, the net force is the sum of the force exerted by the person and the frictional force.

We know that Fnet is +20 Newtons and fFrict is -10 Newtons, so we have the equation

• 20 Newtons = F + (-10 Newtons).

Solving for F we see that F = 20 Newtons + 10 Newtons = 30 Newtons.

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Self-critique (if necessary): OK

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Question: `q005. If a constant net force of 12 Newtons acts on a cart of mass 6 kg, then at what rate does the velocity of the cart change?

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Your solution: 12N = 6kg * a; 12N/6kg = 2m/s^2.

confidence rating: 3

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Given Solution: The velocity of the cart will change at a rate a which is related to the net force and the mass by Fnet = m * a. Thus

a = Fnet / m

= 12 Newtons / (6 kg)

= 12 kg * m/s^2 / (6 kg)

= 2 m/s^2.

We note that the force unit Newtons is broken down to its fundamental units of kg * m / s^2 in order to perform the unit calculation. Dividing kg * m / s^2 by kg we have

(kg / kg) * m/s^2 = m/s^2.

It is important to always do the unit calculations. This habit avoids a large number of errors and also can be used to reinforce our understanding of the relationships in a problem or situation.

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Self-critique (if necessary): I didn’t actually write out the units for Newtons but know that I need to in order to prevent errors and confusion.

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Question: `q006. If a force of 50 Newtons is exerted in the direction of the object's motion by a person, on a 20 kg object, and if friction exerts a force of 10 Newtons opposed to the direction of motion, then what will be the acceleration of the object?

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Your solution: +50 + (-10) = 40N = f. 40 = 20kg * a = 2m/s^2.

confidence rating: 3

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Given Solution: The object will accelerate at a rate determined by Newton's Second Law, Fnet = m * a. The acceleration will therefore be

a = Fnet / m.

The net force on the object will be the sum of the 50 Newton force in the direction of motion and the 10 Newton force opposed to the direction of motion. If we take the direction of motion as positive, then the net force is

Fnet = 50 N - 10 N = 40 N.

It follows that the acceleration is

a = Fnet / m

= 40 N / (20 kg)

= 40 kg m/s^2 / (20 kg)

= 2 m/s^2.

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Self-critique (if necessary): OK

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Question: `q007. If a force of 50 Newtons is exerted opposite to the direction of the object's motion by a person, on a 20 kg object, and if friction exerts a force of 10 Newtons opposed to the direction of motion, then what will be the acceleration of the object?

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Your solution: -50N + (-10N) = -60N = 20kg * a = -60/20 = -3m/s^2.

confidence rating: 3

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Given Solution: If we take the direction of motion to be positive, then since both the 50 Newton force and the 10 Newton force are opposed to the direction of motion the net force must be

net force = -50 Newtons - 10 Newtons = -60 Newtons.

The acceleration of the object will therefore be

a = Fnet / m

= -60 Newtons / (10 kg)

= -60 kg * m/s^2 / (20 kg)

= -3 m/s^2.

The fact that the acceleration is opposed to the direction of motion indicates that the object will be slowing down. The force exerted by the person, being in the direction opposite to that of the motion, is seen to be a retarding force, as is friction. So in this case the person is aided by friction in her apparent goal of stopping or at least slowing the object.

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Self-critique (if necessary): OK

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Question: `q008. If a 40 kg object is moving at 20 m/s, then how long will a take a net force of 20 Newtons directed opposite to the motion of the object to bring the object to rest?

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Your solution: m = 40kg. v = 20m/s. Fnet = -20N. -20N = 40kg * a = -.5m/s^2 = a. a = `dv/`dt.(20m/s)/(s) = .5m/s^2. 20/.5 = 40s.

confidence rating: 2/3

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Given Solution: The force on the object is in the direction opposite its motion, so if the direction of motion is taken to be positive the force is in the negative direction. We therefore write the net force as

Fnet = -20 Newtons.

The acceleration of the object is therefore

a = Fnet / m = -20 Newtons / 40 kg

= -20 kg * m/s^2 / (40 kg)

= -.5 m/s^2.

We can therefore describe uniformly accelerated motion of the object as v0 = 20 m/s, vf = 0 (the object comes to rest, which means its velocity ends up at 0), a = -.5 m/s^2. We can then reason out the time required from the -20 m/s change in velocity and the -.5 m/s^2 acceleration, obtaining `dt = 40 seconds.

We can confirm our reasoning using the equation vf = v0 + a `dt: Solving for `dt we obtain

`dt = (vf - v0) / a

= (0 m/s - 20 m/s) / (-.5 m/s^2)

= -20 m/s / (-.5 m/s^2)

= 40 m/s * s^2 / m = 40 s.

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Self-critique (if necessary): OK

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Question: `q009. If we wish to bring an object with mass 50 kg from velocity 10 m/s to velocity 40 m/s in 5 seconds, what constant net force would be required?

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Your solution: 40m/s - 10m/s = 30m/s. over 5s = 6m/s^2. Fnet = 50kg * 6m/s^2 = 300N.

confidence rating: 3

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Given Solution: The net force would be Fnet = m * a. The acceleration of the object would be the rate which its velocity changes. From 10 m/s to 40 m/s the change in velocity is +30 m/s; to accomplish this in 5 seconds requires average acceleration 30 m/s / (5 s) = 6 m/s^2.

Thus the net force required is

Fnet = m * a

= 50 kg * 6 m/s^2

= 300 kg m/s^2

= 300 Newtons.

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Self-critique (if necessary): OK

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Question: `q010. If a constant net force of 50 Newtons brings an object to rest in four seconds from an initial velocity of 8 meters/second, then what is the mass of the object?

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Your solution: 50N = m*a. `a = -8m/s/(4s) = -2m/s^2. 50N = m*(-2m/s^2) = 25kg.

confidence rating: 2/3

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Given Solution: We know the net force and we have the information required to calculate the acceleration. We will therefore be able to find the mass using Newton's Second Law Fnet = m * a.

We first find the acceleration. The change in velocity from 8 m/s to rest is -8 m/s, and this occurs in 4 seconds. The acceleration is therefore -8 m/s / (4 s) = -2 m/s^2.

The 50 Newton net force must be in the same direction as the acceleration, so we have Fnet = -50 Newtons.

We obtain the mass by solving Newton's Second Law for m:

m = Fnet / a

= -50 N / (-2 m/s^2)

= -50 kg m/s^2 / (-2 m/s^2)

= 25 kg.

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Self-critique (if necessary): I got it all until the part where we were supposed to make Fnet negative to reflect the direction of acceleration. I knew mass couldn’t be negative so I just ignored the positive/negative at the very end. I see why this is and understand it, but would not have come to that conclusion on my own.

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&#Good responses. Let me know if you have questions. &#