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Grade 11Mechanics

What is the net force acting on a 3900-1b automobile accelerating at 13 ft/s2?

Profile image of Simran Bhatia
11 Years agoGrade 11
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1 Answer

Profile image of Aditi Chauhan
11 Years ago

We can solve this using Newton's Second Law of Motion:

F = m × a

Where:

F = net force (in pounds-force, lbf)
m = mass of the object (in slugs)
a = acceleration (in ft/s²)
Step 1: Convert the weight to mass
Weight (W) is related to mass by the relation:

W = m × g

Where:

W = weight in pounds (lbf)
m = mass in slugs
g = acceleration due to gravity (32.17 ft/s²)
Rearranging for mass:

m = W / g

m = 3900 lbf / 32.17 ft/s²
m ≈ 121.26 slugs

Step 2: Calculate the net force
Now use Newton's second law:

F = m × a
F = 121.26 slugs × 13 ft/s²
F ≈ 1576.4 lbf

Final Answer:
The net force acting on the automobile is approximately 1576.4 lbf.

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