How Do You Calculate Total Work on a Car Coasting Downhill in Physics?

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Homework Help Overview

The discussion revolves around calculating the total work done on a car coasting downhill, considering various forces acting on it, such as gravity, air resistance, and the normal force. The context is a grade 10 physics problem involving forces and work-energy principles.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Assumption checking, Problem interpretation

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • Participants discuss the forces involved, including air resistance, gravity, and the normal force. There are questions about how to incorporate friction into the calculations and the absence of numerical values in the problem statement.

Discussion Status

The discussion is ongoing, with participants exploring the types of forces at play and questioning how to approach the calculation of total work without specific numerical data. Some guidance has been offered regarding the identification of forces, but no consensus has been reached on how to proceed with the problem.

Contextual Notes

Participants note the lack of numerical values and the need to consider friction, which may not have been explicitly mentioned in the original problem statement.

iceman90
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This is my first post and I am sorry for any mispelled words or incorrect grammar

This is a problem for my grade 10 physics class
A car of mass m coasts down a hill inclined at an angle theta below the horizontal. The car is acted on by 3 forces. The normal force N exerted by the road, a force due to air resistance, F(air) and the force of gravity mg. Find the total work done on the car as it travels a distance d along the road.



Any suggestions :)
 
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what are the forces in use? There has to be some numbers.
 
Well it's asking for an equation to find the total work done on the car. There arent any numbers.
 
ok then, we know that they are asking for three forces,
a)air resistance
B)force of gravity
c)normal force

so the equations in use is are derived from the sum of F(force)=ma
that mean we just add up all the force to make a net force.
Normal force is the force applied downward and parallel to the road
the force of gravity is essentially weight, or the amount of force applied towards the Earth's center
and the the wind resistance is just a small force applied on the force of the car accelerating downward, which is the force of gravity applied at a certain angle.

Does this help?
 
How am I supposed to put friction into the equation?
 

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