Rubber stopper hanging from the view view mirror of a car

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SUMMARY

The discussion focuses on determining the acceleration of a car based on the angle of a rubber stopper suspended from the rear view mirror. The rubber stopper, weighing 18g, is attached to a 45-cm string and makes an angle of 5.1 degrees with the vertical as the car accelerates eastward. The forces acting on the stopper include gravity and tension, which are essential for calculating the car's acceleration using Newton's laws of motion.

PREREQUISITES
  • Understanding of Newton's laws of motion
  • Basic knowledge of forces: tension and gravity
  • Ability to analyze forces in two dimensions
  • Familiarity with trigonometric functions for angle calculations
NEXT STEPS
  • Calculate the net force acting on the rubber stopper using F = ma
  • Learn how to resolve forces into components using trigonometry
  • Study the relationship between angle and acceleration in inclined systems
  • Explore practical applications of tension and gravity in real-world scenarios
USEFUL FOR

Physics students, automotive engineers, and anyone interested in understanding the dynamics of forces in accelerating vehicles.

shawli
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Homework Statement



A 18g rubber stopper is suspended by a 45-cm string from the rear view mirror of a car. As the car accelerates eastward, the string makes an angle of 5.1 degrees with the vertical. Determine the acceleration of the car.


Homework Equations





The Attempt at a Solution



I'm totally stumped. There are no forces or anything given, not even sure what the diagram should look like : |. Help !
 
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What forces act on the stopper?
 
Gravity?
And it's positioned at an angle because of inertia ? I don't think that can be drawn out as a force though.
 
Yes, gravity is one of the two forces acting on the stopper. What's the other? (What's attached to the stopper?)
 
Oh right, tension !

So, from the rubber stopper, a force point outward diagonally (along the string) is the force of tension.
And a force pointing directly downwards is gravity?
 
shawli said:
So, from the rubber stopper, a force point outward diagonally (along the string) is the force of tension.
And a force pointing directly downwards is gravity?
Exactly!
 
Oh okay! One more thing --the length of the string is given. I get confused when questions about the magnitude of forces give me the length or distance of something. I'm not sure what I can do with that?
 
Just analyze the forces as you normally would. Ignore any extraneous information given.
 

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