What is the coefficient of friction in a child pulling a sled up an incline?

AI Thread Summary
A child pulls a 10lb sled up a 15-degree incline at a constant speed, with an 8lb tension in a rope inclined at 37 degrees to the horizontal. The discussion revolves around calculating the coefficient of friction, with participants analyzing the forces acting on the sled, including gravitational force and tension. A key point is the need to accurately resolve forces parallel and perpendicular to the incline, particularly considering the angles involved. Confusion arises regarding the correct representation of the tension force and its relationship to the incline. The participants emphasize the importance of correctly applying the equations of motion and understanding the forces at play to determine the coefficient of friction.
Sprockets
Messages
2
Reaction score
0

Homework Statement


A child pulls a 10lb sled up a 15 degree incline at a constant speed. The child is pulling on a rope attached to the sled. If the rope is inclined at 37 degrees to the horizontal and there is an 8 pound tension in the rope, what is the coefficient of friction?

Homework Equations


F=ma
Fk=μN
Fs≤μN
3. The Attempt at a Solution


First what I did was draw a diagram break up the forces using a free body (see attached). Since the object is not floating up or going downwards through the ground the normal force and the force of gravity must add up to zero so the normal force and gravitational force are equal. With that done, I realized that since it is going up the incline with an 8lb the force opposing it must be mgsin(15). Thus I concluded that Fk=mgsin(15) and since the object is in motion kinetic friction is at play here Fk=μN and with some algebra i came up with tan(15) which was incorrect.

Next attempt I reread the problem and it said at "a constant speed" from my calc classes I know that when the velocity is not changing the acceleration is zero so i figured Fnet=ma a is zero so I came up with 8lb-mgsin15=0 but that made no sense. Is my diagram correct? Where am i going wrong here?
 

Attachments

  • phs.jpg
    phs.jpg
    18.5 KB · Views: 509
Physics news on Phys.org
Since the object is not floating up or going downwards through the ground the normal force and the force of gravity must add up to zero ...
No ... there are three forces perpendicular to the slope - one of them is the y component of the force of gravity. But you are correct that the sum of the forces is zero.

Is my diagram correct? Where am i going wrong here?
You have drawn the tension parallel to the slope - check the angles again.
Write down the equation for the forces parallel to the slope.
 
What are the forces acting along the normal to the incline?
What are the forces acting along the incline?
 
Sorry Simon I meant to say mgcos(15) is equal to the normal force, its on my diagram.

AdityaDev, I have the force along the incline as mgsin(15). I think what's really confusing me is that 37 degree angle where is it? "rope inclined at 37 degrees to the horizontal," to me says that there is a rope that a kid is pulling on, on top of the 15 degree incline the angle between the rope and the horizontal is 37 and since the kid is pulling on this block that's on top of this 15 degree incline the tension must be parallel to the slope of the 15 degree incline. Like what i tried to draw.
 
TL;DR Summary: I came across this question from a Sri Lankan A-level textbook. Question - An ice cube with a length of 10 cm is immersed in water at 0 °C. An observer observes the ice cube from the water, and it seems to be 7.75 cm long. If the refractive index of water is 4/3, find the height of the ice cube immersed in the water. I could not understand how the apparent height of the ice cube in the water depends on the height of the ice cube immersed in the water. Does anyone have an...
Kindly see the attached pdf. My attempt to solve it, is in it. I'm wondering if my solution is right. My idea is this: At any point of time, the ball may be assumed to be at an incline which is at an angle of θ(kindly see both the pics in the pdf file). The value of θ will continuously change and so will the value of friction. I'm not able to figure out, why my solution is wrong, if it is wrong .
Back
Top