Exercesie about force with friction

In summary, the question asks whether a ship will slide down a greased ramp into the water by itself, and if not, how much force is needed to winch it into the water. The ship exerts a downward force due to gravity, which is divided into a normal force and a parallel force on the ramp. The parallel force must be greater than the force of kinetic friction to keep the ship moving down the ramp. The force needed to winch the ship can be calculated by finding the minimum amount of extra force needed to equal the frictional force and keep the ship moving.
  • #1
Rukawa0320
17
0
here is the task:
A ship whose mass is 2.0 X 10(to the seventh) kg rests on launching ways that slope down to the water at an angle of 6 degrees. The ways are greased to reduce the coefficient of kinetic friction to 0.11 . Will the ship slid e down the ways into the water by itself? If not, find the force needed to winch the ship into the water.

Ive been dealing with this question for 2 days. The first thing that I want to ask is, how can I know that will it slide down by itself or not. I've calcluated its acc. but I got a negative number. My teacher said it is not going to work in that way, so I have to find another way to answer this question.
I also don't understand the second part of the question, how could it possible to lift an object and make it to slide down? I am not a native speaker, but I've checked the meaning of "winch" like 4-5times and it means to lift something. I just can't see the point. Could anybody help me?
 
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  • #2
The ship exerts a force straight downward due to gravity, but since the ship is on a ramp, the force due to gravity is divided up between a force pointing down into the ramp (Normal force) and a force pointing parallel to the ramp (parallel force).
Initially, the parallel force is the only force acting on the object that will cause it to move, so the question comes down to...Will the parallel force be enough to over come friction and move the box down the ramp?

Since the box is initially at rest, the force of friction it must first overcome is the force of static friction, which we are not given, so we will assume that some nice person has already brought the ship to the brink of motion for us.

To calculate the force of kinetic friction, you need to know the normal force the ship is exerting onto the ramp. This is calculated by,
F_normal = mg*cos(angle)
Afterward, to calculate the force of kinetic friction,
F_friction = F_normal * coefficient of friction

To calculate the parallel force pushing the ship down the ramp,
F_parallel = mg*sin(angle)

Is the parallel force equal to or higher than the frictional force? If so, the box will continue to move down the ramp, If not, the box will slow to a stop unless an extra force is applied to keep it going.

[If an extra force is needed, then to calculate it, simply find the minimum amount of extra force needed to be applied parallel to the ramp in order for the parallel force to equal the frictional force, thus the net forces being equal, there will no acceleration and the box will continue to move down the ramp (because remember, some nice person had already started the ship in motion for us)].
 
  • #3
appreciate for your help, I've thought about this idea before but I got a result of 0,096N and I believed that it can't be, but after your explanation I see the whole thing
thx for your help
 

What is force?

Force is a physical quantity that can be described as a push or pull on an object. It is measured in units of Newtons (N) and can cause an object to accelerate or change its motion.

What is friction?

Friction is a force that resists motion between two surfaces that are in contact with each other. It is caused by the roughness of the surfaces and can slow down or stop the motion of an object.

How does friction affect force?

Friction can decrease the amount of force that is applied to an object and therefore decrease the resulting acceleration. This is because some of the applied force is used to overcome the resistance caused by friction.

How can we measure the force of friction?

The force of friction can be measured using a device called a spring scale. The scale is attached to the object and the amount of force needed to move the object is measured by the scale.

How can we reduce the effects of friction?

The effects of friction can be reduced by using lubricants, such as oil or grease, between two surfaces. This creates a smooth surface that reduces the amount of resistance and allows objects to move more easily.

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