Newton's second law and a locomotive

AI Thread Summary
A 50,000 kg locomotive traveling at 60 m/s will continue moving indefinitely if no forces, such as friction, act upon it. The discussion highlights that without braking or any opposing force, the locomotive will not decelerate. Participants clarify that this scenario aligns more with Newton's first law rather than the second law, as it involves uniform motion without acceleration. The absence of specified forces means the locomotive will roll until an external force intervenes. Understanding these principles is crucial for solving related physics problems.
Jennifer001
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Homework Statement



A 50,000 kg locomotive is traveling at 60.0 when its engine and brakes both fail.

How far will the locomotive roll before it comes to a stop?

I'm completely lost and i don't know how to get started on this question
 
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Jennifer001 said:

Homework Statement



A 50,000 kg locomotive is traveling at 60.0 when its engine and brakes both fail.

How far will the locomotive roll before it comes to a stop?

I'm completely lost and i don't know how to get started on this question

F = m*a

If there is no braking, there is no force. No force means no deceleration.

Is that the entire statement of the problem?
 
yes that's the entire question
 
for F=m*a there is no acceleration because its alrdy traveling at 60m/s sorry i left that "m/s" out of the question
 
Jennifer001 said:
for F=m*a there is no acceleration because its alrdy traveling at 60m/s sorry i left that "m/s" out of the question

Better hope there is a lot of track then.
 
If the problem doesn't state a friction force involved, or any other type of force involved, then the train will keep moving until...some force interact with it.
 


Sakha said:
If the problem doesn't state a friction force involved, or any other type of force involved, then the train will keep moving until...some force interact with it.

Yup! :biggrin:

btw, this isn't a Newton's second law problem, but a Newtons first law problem …

a body on which no forces act continues to move with uniform velocity. :wink:
 
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