What is the correct net force needed to increase a car's velocity in 30 seconds?

In summary, the conversation is about finding the net force required to raise the velocity of a car from 20 km/h to 50 km/h in 30 seconds, given its mass of 150 kg. The individual initially calculated the force to be 41.65 N, but then realized their mistake of using too many significant digits. The correct answer should be rounded off to two digits.
  • #1
Sko
I'm doing some problems I found here:

http://library.thinkquest.org/10796/ch4/ch4q.htm

A car is moving at a constant velocity of 20 km/h (5.56 m/s). How much net force is required to raise its velocity to 50 km/h (13.89 m/s) in 30 seconds? Suppose the car has a mass of 150 kg.

I used F= (150kg)([13.89m/s-5.56m/s]/30s)
and got 41.65 N but apparently that's wrong. What am I doing wrong?
 
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  • #2
The only thing you're doing wrong is writing your answer with too many significant digits. :smile: Round off to two digits.
 
  • #3
Ha! My phsycis teacher doesn't make us use significant figures (chem teacher did last year) so I completely forgot to do that :P
 

What is net force?

Net force is the overall force acting on an object, taking into account both magnitude and direction. It is the combination of all the forces acting on the object.

What is acceleration?

Acceleration is the rate of change of an object's velocity over time. It can be positive (increasing speed), negative (decreasing speed), or zero (constant speed).

How are net force and acceleration related?

According to Newton's Second Law of Motion, the net force acting on an object is directly proportional to its acceleration. This means that as net force increases, acceleration also increases, and vice versa.

What is the formula for calculating net force?

The formula for net force is F = ma, where F is the net force, m is the mass of the object, and a is the acceleration. This formula can also be rearranged to solve for mass or acceleration, depending on the given information.

How can we use net force and acceleration to predict the motion of an object?

By understanding the relationship between net force and acceleration, we can use these variables to predict the motion of an object. By calculating the net force acting on the object and knowing its mass, we can determine its acceleration, and therefore, its future motion.

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