Question

Two people are pulling on a rope in order to get a 2250-kg car out of a mud puddle. One person pulls with a force of 600 N and the other pulls with a force of 800 N. There is a resistive frictional force of 1200 N. What will the acceleration of the car be? (answer with 3 digits, units will be m/s/s, DO NOT put them. ) *

Answer 1

Assuming both people are pulling in the same direction, the net force on the car is, according to Newton's second law,

600 N + 800 N - 1200 N = (2250 kg) a

Solve for the acceleration a :

200 N = (2250 kg) a

a = (200 N) / (2250 kg)

a ≈ 0.0889 m/s/s