Question

Suppose a 62-kg boy and a 46-kg girl use a massless rope in a tug-of-war on an icy, resistance-free surface. If the acceleration of the girl toward the boy is 3.0 m/s2, find the magnitude of the acceleration of the boy toward the girl.

Answer 1

`a=2.22\ m/s^2`

Step-by-step explanation:

Mass of the boy, m = 62 kg

Mass of the girl, m' = 46 kg

The acceleration of the girl toward the boy is,
`a'=3\ m/s^2`

The force acting on the girl is given by :

`F'=m'* a'`

`F=46\ kg* 3\ m/s^2`

F' = 138 N

Let a is the magnitude of the acceleration of the boy toward the girl. Again using the second law of motion to find it as :

`a=(F')/(m)`

`a=(138\ N)/(62\ kg)`

`a=2.22\ m/s^2`

So, the the acceleration of the boy toward the girl is
`2.22\ m/s^2`.