Question

Suppose that while moving into an apartment you move a refrigerator into place by sliding it across the floor. The refrigerator weighs 895 N and the coefficient of static friction between the floor and the refrigerator is 0.400. What is the least force you could apply to the refrigerator to cause it to move?

Answer 1

358 N

Step-by-step explanation:

`F=\mu N` where F is the force,
`\mu` is the coefficient of static friction between the floor and the refrigerator and N is the weight

Normally, N=mg hence
`F=\mu mg` where m is the mass of object and g is the acceleration due to gravity

In this case, N is given as 895 N and the coefficient of static friction between the floor and the refrigerator is 0.400 hence substituting them in the formula we obtain

`F=\mu N= 0.4* 895 N= 358 N`