Forces, magnitude and acceleration

AI Thread Summary
To calculate the girl's acceleration, apply Newton's second law, which states that force equals mass times acceleration (F = ma). The girl exerts a force of 4.35 N on the boy, and due to the equal and opposite reaction, the tension in the rope affects both their accelerations. The formula can be rearranged to find the girl's acceleration by dividing the force by her mass (a = F/m). Given her mass of 42.9 kg, the acceleration can be calculated as approximately 0.101 m/s². Understanding these principles is crucial for solving similar physics problems effectively.
Angeluzmaia
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Can someone help me please, with this problem? :cry:
I don't understand it :confused:

A 42.9 kg girl and a 54.8 kg boy are on the surface of a frozen lake, 15.0 m apart. Using a rope, the girl exerts a horizontal 4.35 N force on the boy, pulling him toward her. Calculate the magnitude of the girl's acceleration.


Thanxs a lot ... :smile:
 
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Think about Newton's second law. They pair are initially at rest right? Considering this you know that the force the girl exerts on the rope to get the boy to come toward her is equal and opposite to the force the rope pulls back on her at because of the tension.
 
Can you help me with the formula?
I've been trying but I don't get it.
 
mass of girl * acceleration of girl = -acceleration of boy * mass of boy

sum of the forces must equal 0 since they were initially at 0 acceleration as a system. (edit sorry it's like 3AM here I probably should have answered this sooner)
 

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