Calculating Force in a Dynamics Problem

  • Thread starter Thread starter jen333
  • Start date Start date
  • Tags Tags
    Dynamics
Click For Summary

Homework Help Overview

The discussion revolves around a dynamics problem involving the calculation of forces acting on a stone and a car. The original poster seeks assistance in determining the applied force required to achieve a specific acceleration, while also exploring the relationship between gravitational force and applied force.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Conceptual clarification, Mathematical reasoning

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • Participants discuss the application of Newton's second law and the relationship between mass, gravitational force, and applied force. Questions arise regarding the calculation of mass from weight and the implications of friction in a separate problem involving a car.

Discussion Status

Some participants provide insights into the dynamics of the problem, suggesting methods to calculate the required forces. There is an acknowledgment of different approaches to understanding the forces involved, particularly in the context of friction and acceleration.

Contextual Notes

Participants note the importance of understanding the normal force and its relationship to friction, as well as the need for clarity on the role of velocity in frictional force calculations. There is mention of constraints such as limited information provided in the second problem.

jen333
Messages
58
Reaction score
0
Dynamics Problem...help please!

hey,
i have a dynamics question here that I'm not quite sure how to solve:

A stone weighs 5.4N. What force must be applied to make it accelerate at 3.0/s^2. (The answer is 7.1N must be applied upwards)

ok, so here's what I've got so far:
-gravity (9.81m/s^2) obviously takes part in this problem.
-i'm thinking that the mass (in kg) must be found. i tried the formula Fg=mg to try and find this, however, i got a huge decimal number giving me doubt.

help would be greatly appreciated!

-jen
 
Physics news on Phys.org
there's many ways you can do this i'll show the second force law way

taking the upward direction to be positive
i this stone was moving upward with acceleration of 3.0m/s^2 then what is the force is required to make this stone accelerate at 3.0m/s^2??

Fnet = ma (agree?)
now, if a force of ma is making this stone move upward, then there must a force that is pushing this stone upward, which is in the opposite to the gravitational force taht is exerted by Earth on the stone

the sum of those two force would be Fnet = Fapp - mg
but Fnet = ma soo
ma = Fapp - mg
Fapp = ma + mg
mass,m should be in kilograms
 
awesome! now i understand it :D
ty very much.

alright, if there's anyone who looks back at this post...i have one other physics problem that i just came across. the only reason why I'm having trouble with it is that it only gives me two pieces of information: the mass of the object and the coefficient of friction, mew. (i'll just use a "u" to show this"

The driver of a 2200 kg car applies the brakes on a dry concrete road. Determine the force of friction between EACH tire and the concrete surface. u=0.60. (the answer given is 3.2kN)

so i know that the formula for friction is: Ff=uFn
i've also come up with: Fnet=ma
=Ff-Fa
=uFn-Fapp
=umg-Fapp
what I'm stuck on is how to calculate applied force with only the mass and mew. or am i missing something here? is there some other way to solve this problem?
 
Last edited:
well ok sure there is a velocity but one thing WHO CARES!

the force of friction (kinetic) stays the same regardless of the speed, right?

Now since there are FOUR tires (tyres) each tire(tyre) must share the load of the car uniformly. So the load of the each tire (tyre) on the car must be mg/4, which is 1/4 the weight of the car. Find the normal force on each tire, and then find the frictional force.

Kinetic Frictional force is [itex]F = \mu F_{N}[/itex], it doesn't depend on other forces since kinetic frictional force is constant over any given velocity
 

Similar threads

  • · Replies 45 ·
2
Replies
45
Views
4K
  • · Replies 13 ·
Replies
13
Views
2K
  • · Replies 17 ·
Replies
17
Views
3K
Replies
13
Views
3K
  • · Replies 9 ·
Replies
9
Views
2K
Replies
2
Views
2K
  • · Replies 3 ·
Replies
3
Views
2K
  • · Replies 2 ·
Replies
2
Views
4K
Replies
2
Views
2K
  • · Replies 8 ·
Replies
8
Views
3K