Calculating Acceleration of a Sled on an Incline with a Pulling Dog

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Homework Help Overview

The problem involves calculating the acceleration of a sled being pulled up an incline by a dog, with specific forces acting on the sled, including the applied force, friction, and gravitational components. The subject area pertains to dynamics and forces on inclined planes.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Assumption checking

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • Participants discuss the application of Newton's second law and the forces acting on the sled, including the effects of friction and the angle of the pulling force. There are questions about the validity of the results and whether the sled's acceleration being negative indicates it is moving downhill.

Discussion Status

Some participants express uncertainty about the results, suggesting potential mistakes in the calculations or assumptions. There is a recognition of the challenges posed by the forces involved, but no consensus has been reached on the interpretation of the results.

Contextual Notes

Participants note the unusual scenario of a single dog pulling a heavy sled, questioning the feasibility of the situation and the implications of the calculated acceleration.

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Homework Statement



A dog pulls the rope of a 50 kg sled up a hill with an incline of 20° above the horizontal. The rope is directed 30° from the slope and the dog exerts a force of 200N on the rope. The force of friction is 50 N. What is the sled's acceleration?


2.The attempt at a solution

Fnet = ma

(Fapp) - (Ffriction) - (Fgx) = (50)(a)

(200N cos30) - (50N) - (50 kg * 9.81 m/s/s * sin20) = (50) (a)

a = -0.89 m/s/s.

Therefore, the sled is going down hill?!
 
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I did the problem and got the same results, I cannot help.

You should change your dog :), or maybe we are doing some mistakes, who knows.
 
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The pooch is too weak. It makes sense too, though, he has to pull a 50kg sled with only an initial 200N of horsepower to work with.
 
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Even without the 30º the dog cannot pull the sled, maybe the teacher shows this to explain why you need a bunch of dogs pulling the sled :) .
 
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Thanks guys. I guess i did it correctly.
 

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