SamuelVictor said:Homework Statement
A car of mass 1000 kg accelerates on a straight, flat, horizontal road with an acceleration a = 0.3 m s-2 . The driving force F on the car is opposed by a resistive force of 500 N. What is the net (resultant) force on the car?
Homework Equations
F=ma
The Attempt at a Solution
0.3*1000= 300N
500N- 300N= 200N
answer is 300N... Why?
Force is a physical quantity that describes the interaction between two objects or systems. It is a vector quantity, meaning it has both magnitude and direction. In simpler terms, force is a push or pull that can cause an object to accelerate or change its state of motion.
The unit of force is the Newton (N). It is named after Sir Isaac Newton, a famous scientist who made significant contributions to the understanding of force and motion. One newton is equal to the force required to accelerate a mass of one kilogram at a rate of one meter per second squared.
Force can be measured using a device called a spring scale or a force meter. These tools use the principle of Hooke's law, which states that the force exerted by a spring is directly proportional to the distance it is stretched or compressed. The scale or meter will give a reading in newtons, indicating the amount of force applied.
There are four fundamental forces in nature: gravity, electromagnetism, the strong nuclear force, and the weak nuclear force. In the context of introductory problems about force, the most commonly encountered forces are contact forces (such as friction and normal force) and non-contact forces (such as gravity and electrostatic force).
According to Newton's first law of motion, an object at rest will remain at rest, and an object in motion will continue in motion at a constant velocity, unless acted upon by an unbalanced force. This means that force can cause objects to start moving, stop moving, or change their direction or speed. The net force acting on an object determines its acceleration, as described by Newton's second law of motion (F=ma).