Calculating Dynamics: Newton's Laws and Friction on a Stair-Slider

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Homework Help Overview

The discussion revolves around a dynamics problem involving Newton's laws and friction as a character, referred to as "John," slides down a staircase. The problem provides specific parameters such as mass, frictional force, and initial velocity, while asking for calculations related to acceleration, time to reach the bottom, and final velocity.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Assumption checking

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • Participants discuss the application of Newton's laws, particularly the relationship between force, mass, and acceleration. There are questions about the clarity of the problem and the identity of the character involved.

Discussion Status

The conversation is ongoing, with some participants seeking clarification on the problem setup and others questioning the complexity of the physics involved. There is no clear consensus on how to approach the calculations, but some guidance has been offered regarding the need for mental effort in working through the problem.

Contextual Notes

Participants express confusion about the characters and the problem's framing, indicating a need for clearer definitions and understanding of the scenario presented.

struby3
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"John" the stair-slider was recently photographed sliding down a staircase. He has a mass of 98.0 kg when sitting on a carpet lubed up on the bottom with a kg of butter. The staircase is 8.2 meters long and makes an angle of 43 degrees with the horizontal. The butter reduces his frictional force to 50.0 N. Stavro begins his slide by running, grabbing his carpet, and launching himself on the stairs with a velocity of 4.89 m/s. Determine:

A) John's acceleration (Draw a Force Diagram of the system to help you)
B) How long is takes John to reach the bottom of the stairs
C) John's velocity at the bottom of the stairs


HELP ME PLEASE! i don't really know where to start
 
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Please show some kind of mental effort in working through the problem. What parts make sense, what equations are you working with... Nothing in your text gives you clues?
 
A) Newtons law states that F = MA. Force = mass * acceleration. Since mass is constant throughout, as acceleration increases, what happens to the force?
 
Also, is this really "advanced physics"?
 
struby3 said:
"John" the stair-slider was recently photographed sliding down a staircase. He has a mass of 98.0 kg when sitting on a carpet lubed up on the bottom with a kg of butter. The staircase is 8.2 meters long and makes an angle of 43 degrees with the horizontal. The butter reduces his frictional force to 50.0 N. Stavro begins his slide by running, grabbing his carpet, and launching himself on the stairs with a velocity of 4.89 m/s. Determine:

A) John's acceleration (Draw a Force Diagram of the system to help you)
B) How long is takes John to reach the bottom of the stairs
C) John's velocity at the bottom of the stairs


HELP ME PLEASE! i don't really know where to start
Easy! Since it was Stavro who slid down the stairs, John will have no acceleration, will never reach the bottom of the stairs and will have no velocity at the bottom of the stairs!
 
Stavro? i don't understand
 
Stavro is the guy in the problem.
 
ok i see, well if someone could just get me started with the problem it would be great
 

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