Forces, magnitude and acceleration

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Homework Help Overview

The problem involves two individuals on a frozen lake, where one exerts a force on the other using a rope. The context is centered around forces, mass, and acceleration, specifically applying Newton's second law to determine the girl's acceleration.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Conceptual clarification, Mathematical reasoning

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • The original poster seeks assistance in understanding how to approach the problem, particularly in calculating acceleration. Some participants suggest considering Newton's second law and the forces acting on both individuals. Others express uncertainty about the correct formula to use.

Discussion Status

The discussion is ongoing, with participants exploring the relationships between forces and acceleration. Some guidance has been offered regarding the principles of Newton's laws, but there is no explicit consensus on the approach or formula to use.

Contextual Notes

Participants are working under the assumption that the system starts at rest, and there is a focus on the forces involved in the interaction between the girl and the boy.

Angeluzmaia
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Can someone help me please, with this problem? :cry:
I don't understand it :confused:


A 42.9 kg girl and a 54.8 kg boy are on the surface of a frozen lake, 15.0 m apart. Using a rope, the girl exerts a horizontal 4.35 N force on the boy, pulling him toward her. Calculate the magnitude of the girl's acceleration.


Thanxs a lot ... :smile:
 
Last edited:
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Think about Newton's second law. They pair are initially at rest right? Considering this you know that the force the girl exerts on the rope to get the boy to come toward her is equal and opposite to the force the rope pulls back on her at because of the tension.
 
Can you help me with the formula?
I've been trying but I don't get it.
 
mass of girl * acceleration of girl = -acceleration of boy * mass of boy

sum of the forces must equal 0 since they were initially at 0 acceleration as a system. (edit sorry it's like 3AM here I probably should have answered this sooner)
 

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