Find Acceleration of Sled Pulled by Chuck with 50kg Mass

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Homework Help Overview

The problem involves calculating the acceleration of a sled being pulled by Chuck, who exerts a force at an angle. The sled and Chuck's brother have a combined mass of 50 kg, and the coefficient of friction is given. Participants are discussing the forces acting on the sled, particularly the normal force.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Assumption checking, Problem interpretation

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • Participants are analyzing the free body diagram (FBD) drawn by the original poster and questioning the assumptions made regarding the normal force. There is discussion about the correct representation of forces acting on the sled, including the normal force and friction.

Discussion Status

Some participants have provided guidance on the direction of the normal force and suggested setting up equations based on net force. There is an ongoing exploration of the correct values and assumptions related to the forces involved.

Contextual Notes

Participants are addressing potential misunderstandings regarding the values used in the calculations, specifically the weight of the mass and the representation of forces in Newtons. There is also a mention of the coefficient of friction and its role in the problem.

Bdurb
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Chuck pulls his brother in a sled. Chucks brother and the sled have a combined mass of 50kg. On a flat surface, chuck pulls with 120 N 30 degrees above the horizontal. The coefficient of friction btwn the sled and the snow is .08. Find the acceleration of the sled.
i drew my FBD
DSC01211.jpg


but I am not sure if assumed wrong for the Fn or the normal force. Any help is greatly appreciated.
 
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Normal forces always acts perpendicular to the surface.

And that 500 should be a 50, based from your question.
 
Bdurb said:
Chuck pulls his brother in a sled. Chucks brother and the sled have a combined mass of 50kg. On a flat surface, chuck pulls with 120 N 30 degrees above the horizontal. The coefficient of friction btwn the sled and the snow is .08. Find the acceleration of the sled.

i drew my FBD
http://i746.photobucket.com/albums/xx109/SubyFTW/DSC01211.jpg

but I am not sure if assumed wrong for the Fn or the normal force. Any help is greatly appreciated.
Your Fn is incorrect. Fn must act straight upward, perpendicular to the surface as thrill3rnit3 said.

Set up two equations using Fnet=ma. One equation for the y-direction, and one for the x-direction.

thrill3rnit3 said:
Normal forces always acts perpendicular to the surface.

And that 500 should be a 50, based from your question.
No, the 500 is correct since he is indicating forces in Newtons.

Using g=10 m/s2 gives a weight of 500 N for the 50 kg mass.
 
Oops, brain fart that time :-p
 

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