Question

A 1200 kg car goes from 15m/s to 30 m/s in 9 s. What is the average force acting upon it?

Answer 1

Remember that Force and acceleration are related through Newton's Second Law of Motion:

`F=ma`

On the other hand, acceleration is the rate of change of velocity with respect to time:

`a=(v_f-v_0)/(\Delta t)`

Use the provided information to find the acceleration of the object. Then, replace the values of the acceleration and the mass of the car to find the average force acting upon it.

Replace vf=30m/s, v0=15m/s and Δt=9s into the formula to find the acceleration of the car:

`a=(30(m)/(s)-15(m)/(s))/(9s)=1.666...(m)/(s^2)`

Replace m=1200kg and a=1.666...m/s^2 to find the average force acting upon the car:

`F=(1200kg)(1.666...(m)/(s^2)=2000N`

Therefore, the average force acting upon the car is 2000N.