Question

How do I solve this problem? 1. Draw the forces -trailer: weight downwards, normal force upwards, tension right and drag lefttruck: weight downwards, normal force upwards, tension left, drag left, thrust/applied right2. The system is moving with a constant speed, so the forces are balanced!3. Start by just looking at the trailer. The tension to the right must balance the drag. This will also be equal to the tension on the truck. 4. Now, just look at the truck. The thrust/applied force must balance the drag plus the tension.

Answer 1

A force diagram of the given situation is shown below:

where,

N1 and N2: normal forces on truck and trailer

fg1 and fg2: weights of truck and trailer

d1 and d2: drag forces on truck and trailer

T: tension in the cable

Based on the previous diagram and the given information, you can conclude:

Forces acting on the truck = 5

Forces acting on the trailer = 4

The forces of the system are balanced becasue the speed of the motion for both truck and trailer is constant.

You can notice that drag force on the trailer is opposite to tension in the cable, then:

T = d2 = 600N

T = 600N

The tension in the cable is 600N

Consider that all horizontal forces on the truck are balanced, then, you can write:

th = T + d1

th = 600N + 750N

th = 1350N

The truck generates 1350N of force