Question

a boy is using a rope to pull a sled to the right. what are the directions of the tension force and the friction force on the sled respectively?

Answer 1

Tension force: towards boy

Friction: away from boy

Step-by-step explanation:

For this problem, assume that the boy is pulling the sled from left to right

Tension force:

The tension force is going to the right (towards the boy) because the boy is the one who is applying the tension force onto the sled for it to follow him.

Friction force:

In this case, there is kinetic friction between the ground and the sled. The kinetic friction is slowing down the sled, which is going to the right, therefore the direction of the friction force is pointing to the left (away from the boy)

Answer 2

The tension force is directed towards the boy, along the rope, and the friction force acts in the opposite direction of the sled's motion.

Step-by-step explanation:

When a boy pulls a sled to the right using a rope, the direction of the tension force is along the rope towards the boy, and the direction of the friction force on the sled is to the left, opposite to the direction of the sled's motion. To solve problems like these, one would draw a free-body diagram to visualize and calculate the forces acting on the sled. Such a diagram helps in determining the net force and, subsequently, the acceleration of the sled according to Newton's second law of motion (F = ma).

For a sled being pulled on a horizontal surface, Newton's laws of motion come into play to solve for variables like acceleration and force. When a force is applied at an angle, its horizontal and vertical components need to be calculated to determine the net force acting in the direction of motion.