Calculating Force: Newton's Law and the Motion of a 850 kg Dragster

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Homework Help Overview

The discussion revolves around calculating forces and motion parameters for a dragster with a mass of 850 kg that accelerates from rest to a speed of 24.6 m/s in a specified time. Participants are exploring Newton's laws, specifically the application of force and acceleration in a physics context.

Discussion Character

  • Mixed

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • Participants discuss using the equation F=ma to calculate average force and question the units of force. Some express confusion regarding the concept of horizontal force and how to determine it for the driver.
  • There are inquiries about finding acceleration and final velocity given a distance and time, with participants suggesting various equations of motion and relationships between variables.
  • Some participants explore the implications of graphing velocity versus time and the area under the curve in relation to distance traveled.

Discussion Status

Several participants have provided insights and clarifications on the calculations and concepts involved. There is an ongoing exploration of the relationships between acceleration, velocity, and distance, with some participants attempting to derive formulas and understand the implications of their findings. Multiple interpretations and approaches are being discussed without a clear consensus.

Contextual Notes

Participants are working within the constraints of a homework assignment, which may limit the information they can use or the methods they can apply. There are also questions about the definitions and assumptions related to horizontal forces and constant acceleration.

aerogurl2
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I need some help on the two questions:
A 850 kg dragster, starting from rest, attains a speed of 24.6m/s in 0.49s.

1. What is the size of the average force on the dragster during this time interval?

Do I just use the equation F=ma to find this answer?...because I found the acceleration which is 50.2...so I just plug in the numbers F=(850)(50.2) which equals 42670? :confused:

2.Assume that the driver has a mass of 83kg. What horizontal force does the seat exert on the driver? I don't get this what do they mean by horizontal force and how do you find it??

Please someone help me:cry: thanx
 
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Yup, you did part 1 correctly

Part 2 is basically asking you what force was exherted on the driver (horizontal is specified because you're not looking for the vertical normal force). Do it just like the first one
 
aerogurl2 said:
I need some help on the two questions:
A 850 kg dragster, starting from rest, attains a speed of 24.6m/s in 0.49s.

1. What is the size of the average force on the dragster during this time interval?

Do I just use the equation F=ma to find this answer?...because I found the acceleration which is 50.2...so I just plug in the numbers F=(850)(50.2) which equals 42670?
What are the units of force?

f_{avg} = ma_{avg} = m\Delta v/\Delta t

2.Assume that the driver has a mass of 83kg. What horizontal force does the seat exert on the driver? I don't get this what do they mean by horizontal force and how do you find it??
What is the acceleration of the driver? What is his mass? What is the force then?

AM
 
thanks for the help guys really appreciate it:smile:
 
I have one more question.. the dragster completed the 412.3m run in 4.936s. if the car had a constant acceleration, what would be the acceleration and final velocity?
I only know how to find the average velocity by dividing 412.3m by 4.936s but I don't know how to find the final velocity and the acceleration b/c they're not asking for the average velocity or average acceleration

I thought I have to plug the numbers into an equation like this one: vf=a(t) but I don't know either 'a' or 'Vf'
 
aerogurl2 said:
I have one more question.. the dragster completed the 412.3m run in 4.936s. if the car had a constant acceleration, what would be the acceleration and final velocity?
I only know how to find the average velocity by dividing 412.3m by 4.936s but I don't know how to find the final velocity and the acceleration b/c they're not asking for the average velocity or average acceleration

I thought I have to plug the numbers into an equation like this one: vf=a(t) but I don't know either 'a' or 'Vf'
Draw a graph of velocity vs. time where acceleration is constant. What does it look like? What is the area under the graph in terms of a and final t? What does the area represent? So how is the distance related to the a and t? If you can determine that, you can find t. When you know t, you can find final v (what is relationship between v, a and t?).

AM
 
aerogurl2 said:
A 850kg dragster, starting from rest, attains a speed of 24.6 m/s in 0.49s.

the dragster completed the 412.3m run in 4.936s. if the car had a constant acceleration, what would be the acceleration and final velocity?
I only know how to find the average velocity by dividing 412.3m by 4.936s but I don't know how to find the final velocity and the acceleration b/c they're not asking for the average velocity or average acceleration

to get the acceleration do i do f/m=a? or is it just v/t?
can someone try helping me?

Are you familiar with the equations of motion under constant acceleration?

You need these two for this problem :

v = u + at where v is final velocity, u is initial velocity (zero in this case since it starts from rest), a is acceleration and t is time. Initially, you're given the speed the dragster reaches after a certain amount of time under constant acceleration. Use this to find out a.

v^2 = u^2 + 2as where s is displacement (distance from the start). Plug in the previously calculated value of a to find v after the full distance is covered.
 
after I graph the velocity vs. time graph I understand that the line has to be linear for the acceleration to be constant the area under the curve in the velocity graph is 1017.56 this shows the total distance travel but I don't understand how knowing the total distance travel can help me find constant acceleration Please advise me on this question
 
after looking at it the equation for the velocity graph is y= 412.3/4.936x therefore in the acceleration graph it has to show a horizontal line which is the slope of the velocity graph therefore the constant acceleration is 83.53m/s^2. Am I on the right track?
 
  • #10
aerogurl2 said:
after looking at it the equation for the velocity graph is y= 412.3/4.936x therefore in the acceleration graph it has to show a horizontal line which is the slope of the velocity graph therefore the constant acceleration is 83.53m/s^2. Am I on the right track?
The essential point is that the area under the graph (distance travelled) is 1/2 the final velocity x elapsed time.

The area under the graph at time t is the area of a triangle of base t and height of v. So the area (which is the distance travelled) is:

(1)Area = s = \frac{1}{2}vt

But where a is constant: v = at so

(2)s = \frac{1}{2}at^2

So work out a from (2) (you know t and s). Then work out final v from (1).

AM
 

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