What is the Origin of the Friction Force in Surfer's Motion on a Wave?

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SUMMARY

The discussion centers on calculating the friction force acting on a surfer standing on a board inclined at 10º while being accelerated by a wave at 1.0 m/s². The surfer's weight is 70 kg, leading to a calculated friction force of approximately 188 N when considering gravitational and inertial forces. The analysis involves resolving forces in both the x and y axes to ensure equilibrium, confirming that the friction force counteracts the wave force to prevent sliding.

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  • Understanding of Newton's laws of motion
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Hernaner28
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Homework Statement


surf.jpg

The surfer (70kg) is standing over a board which has an angle of 10º with the horizontal. A wave acelerates him to the right at 1.0m/s^2. There is a force that prevents the surfer from sliding over the board.


Homework Equations


Calculate that force. What's the origin of this force?


The Attempt at a Solution



What I did was to analize the surfer only and since there's horizontal aceleration to the right then there's a wave force in horizontal direction to the right. So I just analized it in axis x given the faact that at axis y it doesn't move. So the equations:


http://eva.fing.edu.uy/filter/tex/pix.php/fa2415fb159333cacb5c7a42d79502d8.png
http://eva.fing.edu.uy/filter/tex/pix.php/093b650ee4c9116ddcd68135cf37b616.png

Then I calculated the weight at axis x:

http://eva.fing.edu.uy/filter/tex/pix.php/857f0c71f94a74d9cb6e58fc3e611cfe.png

So the friction force has to be the difference among these two and in the direction of the wave force and it would be 50N but the option is not in the moddle multiplechoice I'm doing.

Thanks!
 
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Hernaner28 said:

Homework Statement


surf.jpg

The surfer (70kg) is standing over a board which has an angle of 10º with the horizontal. A wave acelerates him to the right at 1.0m/s^2. There is a force that prevents the surfer from sliding over the board.


Homework Equations


Calculate that force. What's the origin of this force?


The Attempt at a Solution



What I did was to analize the surfer only and since there's horizontal aceleration to the right then there's a wave force in horizontal direction to the right. So I just analized it in axis x given the faact that at axis y it doesn't move. So the equations:


http://eva.fing.edu.uy/filter/tex/pix.php/fa2415fb159333cacb5c7a42d79502d8.png
http://eva.fing.edu.uy/filter/tex/pix.php/093b650ee4c9116ddcd68135cf37b616.png

Then I calculated the weight at axis x:

http://eva.fing.edu.uy/filter/tex/pix.php/857f0c71f94a74d9cb6e58fc3e611cfe.png

So the friction force has to be the difference among these two and in the direction of the wave force and it would be 50N but the option is not in the moddle multiplechoice I'm doing.

Thanks!


Hi, in my opinion the answer is the following: in the (accelerated) frame where the man is at rest the following forces act on the man: gravity (m g), inertial force (-m a), the reaction of the table which is perpendicular to the plane of the board (R) and and friction (F) which is parallel to the board; if you sum (vectorially of course) all these force you should obtain zero in order to say that the man is in equilibrium over the board; you have then two equations in two unknowns (F and R); solving the system I obtain

[itex]F=m(g[/itex] sin[itex](\theta) +a[/itex] cos[itex](\theta))[/itex]

substituting [itex]\theta=10°[/itex], [itex]a=1\frac{m}{s^2}[/itex], [itex]m=70Kg[/itex], I obtain
F≈188N
 
Oh yes! You're right! I forgot that the inercial force is negative! Thanks!
 

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