Three forces on a box in different directions what is the acceleration

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Homework Help Overview

The discussion revolves around a physics problem involving three forces acting on a box, with the goal of determining the acceleration of the box. The forces are given in terms of their magnitudes and angles, and the mass of the box is specified.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Assumption checking, Problem interpretation

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • The original poster attempts to calculate the components of the forces and the net force acting on the box, using trigonometric functions based on the angles provided. Some participants question the accuracy of the component calculations and suggest alternative methods for resolving the forces.

Discussion Status

Participants are actively engaging with the original poster's calculations, with some providing feedback on the correctness of the force components. There is an ongoing exploration of different approaches to resolving the forces, but no consensus has been reached regarding the calculations.

Contextual Notes

The original poster mentions their grade level and the method taught to them, indicating a potential gap in understanding the alternative approaches suggested by others. There is also a reference to specific angles and their relation to the coordinate system used for the calculations.

Lucaburra
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Homework Statement



Force A 250 degrees @ 200 N
Force B 150 degrees @ 300 N
Force C 50 degrees @ 400 N
mass = 40kg
mew = .14
what is acceleration

Homework Equations



Fa^2 = Fy net^2 x Fx net^2
Fn = Fg
Ff = Fn x mew
Fnet = Fa - Ff
F= ma


The Attempt at a Solution



Fax=Cos 20 (200) = -187.93
Fay = Sin 20 (200) = -68.40

Fbx = Sin 30 (300) = 150
Fby = Cos 30 (300) = -259.81

Fcx = Cos 50 (400) = 257.11
Fcy = Sin 50 (400) = 306.42

Fx net = 219.18 N
Fynet = -21.79 N

Fa^2 = Fxnet^2 + Fynet^2
Fa^2 = 219.18^2 + -21.79^2
Fa^2 = 48039.87 + -474.80
Fa^2 = 47565.07
Fa = 218.09 N

Fn = 9.81 m/s^2 x 40Kg = 392.40N

Ff = Fn (mew) = 392.40N (.14) = 54.94 N

Fnet = Fa - Ff = 218.09 - 54.94 = 163.15 N
a = F/m = 163.15/40 = 4.08 m/s

I'm just not sure I've done this correct
 
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The components of Fa and Fb are not computed correctly. BTW, you could make your life easier by choosing x to coincide with one of the forces, say Fc, then Fcx = 400 N and Fcy = 0, and the angles of the other forces are relative to Fc, i.e., 200 and 100.
 
Sorry voko I don't follow. I drew my x,y graph and entered the force vectors. I then used the angles relative to the x axis, (as the text says) hence F ax = Cos 20 and F bx = Sin 30. I'm not sure about your meaning to "choose x to coincide with one of the forces." I'm in grade 11 and this is what we were taught to do.
 
No problem, you can ignore this part. But the components of Fa and Fb are still not computed properly. For example, Fax = Fa cos 250 = -68.4 N.
 

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