Determine the net force acting on a ball as it rolls down a ramp.

[filip3311]

Homework Statement

I am doing a Gr. 11 Physics project and my task is:Determine the net force acting on a ball as it rolls down a ramp.
m= 46.7
d(horizontal of ramp/length)= 92.5cm
h (height of the ramp from floor to tallest point)= 45.0cm
time for ball to roll down= 0.61s

Homework Equations

I am confused on how to determine the net force. I would just use F=mg but because this is a ramp, I am unsure. Please let me know if you can help me at all.
Here is a picture of the experiment:

The Attempt at a Solution

 

[Precursor]

You'll have to consider a free body diagram(FBD) of the ball on the ramp. Since this is an 11th grade project, you should know the basics of drawing an FBD. Simply draw the ball on an incline, introduce an appropriate coordinate axis, and plot all the relevant forces acting on the ball. There will be gravitational, normal, and friction forces on the ball.

 

[filip3311]

Alright sounds good. I'll give it a shot and post back with my solutions.

 

[filip3311]

Alright I drew the diagram and got the net force of the ball rolling down the ramp at 220.57N (coefficient of friction was 0.01 (closest i could fin in my textbook.)) If anybody likes physics and would like to do the problem themselves to check if my answer is correct, I'd appreciate it. Good day guys :)

 

[rwisz]

To determine the net force acting on the ball as it rolls down the ramp, we need to consider the forces acting on the ball. The main forces to consider are the force due to gravity (Fg) and the normal force (Fn) exerted by the ramp on the ball.

Since the ball is rolling down the ramp, we can assume that there is no acceleration in the horizontal direction, so the net force in the horizontal direction would be zero. Therefore, we only need to consider the forces in the vertical direction.

First, we need to determine the weight of the ball, which is the force due to gravity (Fg). We can calculate this using the formula Fg=mg, where m is the mass of the ball and g is the acceleration due to gravity (9.8 m/s^2). In this case, Fg = (46.7)(9.8) = 457.66 N.

Next, we need to consider the normal force (Fn) exerted by the ramp on the ball. This force is equal in magnitude to the weight of the ball, but in the opposite direction. This is because the normal force is the force exerted by a surface on an object in contact with it, and it acts perpendicular to the surface. In this case, Fn = -457.66 N.

Now, we can calculate the net force (Fnet) acting on the ball using the formula Fnet = Fg + Fn. In this case, Fnet = 457.66 N + (-457.66 N) = 0 N.

Therefore, the net force acting on the ball as it rolls down the ramp is zero, meaning that the ball is in a state of equilibrium. This makes sense, since the ball is not accelerating in the horizontal direction and is rolling down the ramp at a constant speed.