How Do You Calculate the Force Exerted by a Shopper on a Grocery Cart?

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SUMMARY

The discussion focuses on calculating the force exerted by a shopper on a grocery cart pushed at a constant speed against a frictional force of 35.0 N. The shopper pushes the cart 20.0 m at an angle of 25.0º below the horizontal. Key equations involve energy considerations, specifically the work-energy principle, which relates the work done against friction to the force exerted by the shopper. The mass of the cart is critical for determining the gravitational force components, although it is not provided in the initial problem statement.

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crysland
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A shopper pushes a grocery cart 20.0 m at constant speed on level ground, against a 35.0 N frictional force. He pushes in a direction 25.0º below the horizontal.

Find the force the shopper exerts, using energy considerations.

I got stuck on this because they don't give the mass of the cart.
 
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How would you use the mass of the cart? Suppose it were given, what equations would you apply?
(I find it strange that they ask you to use energy considerations though.)
 
I need to find the x-component of the weight so I need to know the mass.
 
crysland said:
I need to find the x-component of the weight so I need to know the mass.
What x component? Gravity acts vertically and this is a horizontal surface. It's the force applied by the pusher that is not horizontal.
 

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