I don't know how to find the normal force on this problem

AI Thread Summary
To determine the force needed to slide a 3.0 kg wood box down a vertical wall at a constant speed while pushing at a 49° angle, one must consider the forces acting on the box: gravity, normal force, kinetic friction, and the applied force. The normal force does not contribute to movement in the x-direction, and friction can be neglected if the coefficient is unknown. For constant speed, the net force in both the x and y directions must equal zero, leading to equations that relate the applied force, normal force, and gravitational force. The coefficient of kinetic friction for wood is noted as 0.2, which can be used to find the frictional force once the normal force is established. The discussion emphasizes setting up the equations correctly to solve for the necessary applied force.
xstetsonx
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1. A m = 3.0 kg wood box slides down a vertical wood wall while you push on it at a θ = 49° angle. What magnitude of force should you apply to cause the box to slide down at a constant speed?

2. Fk-Mk*n


3. i know there are 4 forces acting on the object. gravity, normal force from the wall, kinetic friction, and the force that i applied. but i do not know how to set up the equation to solve this problem
 
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Do you know how to draw a free body diagram?
 
yea i did one but the n is on the x-axis so that means i need to know the F to get the normal force right?
 
First off, you have to neglect friction since you do not know the kinetic friction coefficient of the surface. Second, the normal force doesn't cause the block to move in what you defined to be the x direction. Are you using Newton's second law for net force in the x and y directions?
 
Vykan12 said:
First off, you have to neglect friction since you do not know the kinetic friction coefficient of the surface. Second, the normal force doesn't cause the block to move in what you defined to be the x direction. Are you using Newton's second law for net force in the x and y directions?

o i am sorry this question some how expected us to find the coefficient of kinetic friction on wood which is 0.2. and yes
 
Welcome to PF!

Hi xstetsonx! Welcome to PF! :wink:
xstetsonx said:
i need to know the F to get the normal force right?

No, you don't need to know F, you can just call it F.

For constant speed, you need zero acceleration, which means zero net force in both the x and y direction.

So call the force F, find N, and then find µN. :smile:
 
so the total force will be
mK*Fcos49-mg+Fsin49?
 
xstetsonx said:
so the total force will be
mK*Fcos49-mg+Fsin49?

Yes, except I'm not sure about that m at the beginning.
 
You should get

F_{app} - F_{k} - mg\sin(\theta) = 0
n - mg\cos(\theta) = 0

The algebra's up to you.

Edit:

so the total force will be
mK*Fcos48-mg+Fsin48?

Yes, that's correct, assuming F is the force of gravity.
 
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