Baby-Sitting Adventure: Calculating Net Force, Wagon Mass, and Acceleration
What tasks does Hector have while babysitting Jacob?
A. Playing games with Jacob
B. Walking Jacob in a wagon through the neighborhood
C. Reading books to Jacob
What forces are involved while Hector crosses the street with Jacob in the wagon?
A. Forward force exerted by Hector, resistance force due to friction
B. Gravity force, air resistance force
C. Net force, acceleration force
How can we calculate the net force, wagon mass, and horizontal acceleration in this scenario?
Answer:
To calculate the net force, wagon mass, and horizontal acceleration in this scenario, we can follow these steps:
1. Net force = Forward force - Frictional force
2. Weight of wagon + Jacob = Mass x Gravity (317 N = Mass x 9.81)
3. Acceleration of wagon = Net force / Mass
When Hector is babysitting Jacob and takes him for a stroll through the neighborhood in a wagon, various forces come into play. To determine the net force acting on the wagon, we subtract the frictional force from the forward force exerted by Hector. In this case, the net force is 36.9 N.
By equating the weight of the wagon and Jacob to the mass of the system multiplied by the acceleration due to gravity, we can find that the mass of the wagon (with Jacob) is 32.35 kg.
Finally, to calculate the horizontal acceleration of the wagon, we divide the net force by the mass of the system. In this scenario, the acceleration of the wagon is determined to be 1.14 m/s².