Question

A crane must exert a force of 25000 N to lift a whale shark, the largest fish in the world, into a tank. If the shark’s acceleration equals 1.25 m/s2, what is the shark’s mass?

Answer 1

The force required to lift the whale shark is given as 25000 N, and its acceleration is 1.25 m/s^2. We can use Newton's second law of motion, which states that the force (F) applied on an object is equal to the product of its mass (m) and acceleration (a), i.e. F = ma.

Rearranging the equation to solve for the mass, we get:

m = F/a

Substituting the given values, we get:

m = 25000 N / 1.25 m/s^2

m = 20000 kg

Therefore, the mass of the whale shark is approximately 20,000 kg.