Friction force homework problems

AI Thread Summary
The discussion revolves around a physics homework problem related to forces acting on a cart during a collision with a bumper. Participants debate which facts are necessary to assert that the forces measured by a sensor and the forces affecting the cart are nearly equal. Key points include the consideration of friction, the net force on the bumper, and the cancellation of the cart's weight by the normal force. Ultimately, the consensus suggests that both the small force of friction and the cancellation of weight by the normal force are crucial for the analysis. The conversation highlights the complexities of understanding force interactions in a lab setting.
gavrir
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Hey guys this is a practice problem for my lab and i can't get it can someone please help:
The force sensor measures the force on the sensor due to the bumper, but the cart's momentum change arises from the force on the cart due to the bumper. Which of the following facts are needed to assert that the magnitude of these two forces are nearly equal at all times.

A. Their magnitudes differ by the magnitude of the net force on the bumper.

B. The force of friction is small.

C. The net force on the bumper is small.

D. The cart's weight is canceled by the the normal force exerted by the track.



1. A, B

2. A, C

3. A, D

4. B, C

5. B, D

6. C, D

7. A, B, C, D

Thanks!
 
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gavrir said:
Hey guys this is a practice problem for my lab and i can't get it can someone please help:
The force sensor measures the force on the sensor due to the bumper, but the cart's momentum change arises from the force on the cart due to the bumper. Which of the following facts are needed to assert that the magnitude of these two forces are nearly equal at all times.

A. Their magnitudes differ by the magnitude of the net force on the bumper.

B. The force of friction is small.

C. The net force on the bumper is small.

D. The cart's weight is canceled by the the normal force exerted by the track.



1. A, B

2. A, C

3. A, D

4. B, C

5. B, D

6. C, D

7. A, B, C, D

Thanks!

can you describe a bit the physical situation? Where is the sensor, what is happening? It's a colision? The bumper is on what? It's hard to reply without some idea of the setup.
 
Well I have not done the lab yet, and these are practice pre-lab questions. But usually the force sensor is attactched to the end of the cart which is on a "frictionless" surface. It is an impulse and momentum lab and i believe that the bumber is on the end of the meterstick.
 
gavrir said:
Well I have not done the lab yet, and these are practice pre-lab questions. But usually the force sensor is attactched to the end of the cart which is on a "frictionless" surface. It is an impulse and momentum lab and i believe that the bumber is on the end of the meterstick.

Ok.



Basically, the change of momentum is due to the net force on the cart. While the sensor is measuring only the force on the cart due to the bumper. The question is then: why are these two forces nearly equal?
Another way of saying this is: why can you ignore all the other forces on the cart, beside the force exerted by the bumper?

Hint: what are the forces on the cart during the collision? Why can you ignore all the other forces beside the bumper force?
 
so then it is
A. Their magnitudes differ by the magnitude of the net force on the bumper.

B. The force of friction is small.

A and B correct?
 
actually the answer is all of them isn't it?
 
gavrir said:
actually the answer is all of them isn't it?

I would not agree... Two of them sounds right to me.
 
is it b and c?
 
gavrir said:
is it b and c?

What are the forces acting on the cart during the collision?
 
  • #10
well the surface is considered frictionless but that's impossible right? there has to be some friction and the other is the applied force right?
 
  • #11
gavrir said:
well the surface is considered frictionless but that's impossible right? there has to be some friction and the other is the applied force right?

Force applied by what? You are also forgetting the forces along y
 
  • #12
o0oh the normal force and the force due to gravity, but since the motion is horizontal i thought those didnt matter...so I am guessing the answer is b and d which are friction and normal/gravity
 
  • #13
gavrir said:
o0oh the normal force and the force due to gravity, but since the motion is horizontal i thought those didnt matter...so I am guessing the answer is b and d which are friction and normal/gravity

So during the collison, there is the force due to the bumper, a little bit of friction, the normal and the weight.

The question is : why can't we forget about the normal, the weight and the friction is say that the net force is basically just due to the force of the bumper?

there is no reason to say that the force of the bumper is much larger than the weight of the normal but we can forget about those because they cancel out.

And we can forget about the friction force because it must be much smaller than the bumper's force.


Choice A says that teh magnitude of the bumper's force and the net force differ by the net force on the bumper. This does not make sense. And there is nothing that say sthat the bumper force is small.

So here you go...
 
  • #14
ok i think i got it now C and D?
 
  • #15
gavrir said:
ok i think i got it now C and D?

Why do you have to assume that the force due to the bumper is small? If it was, we could not neglect friction compared to it.
 
  • #16
sorry wrong choices i meant B and D
 
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