Question

a fish is swimming in an ocean at an acceleration of 5m/s2. The fish swims against a current of 5n with a force of 23n. calculate the mass of the fish

Answer 1

Calculation of the Mass of the Fish

The problem involves finding the mass of a fish swimming in an ocean, given its acceleration and the forces involved.

1. Given Data:

- Acceleration of the fish,
`\( a = 5 \, \text{m/s}^2 \)`

- Force exerted by the fish,
`\( F_{\text{fish}} = 23 \, \text{N} \)`

- Force of the current against which the fish swims,
`\( F_{\text{current}} = 5 \, \text{N} \)`

2. Net Force Acting on the Fish:

- The net force is the difference between the force exerted by the fish and the force of the current.

`$\[ \begin{align*} F_{\text{net}} &= F_{\text{fish}} - F_{\text{current}} \\ &= 23 \, \text{N} - 5 \, \text{N} \\ &= 18 \, \text{N} \end{align*} \]`

3. Applying Newton's Second Law of Motion:

- Newton's second law states
`\( F = m \cdot a \)`, where
`\( F \)` is the net force,
`\( m \)` is the mass, and
`\( a \)` is the acceleration.

- To find the mass, rearrange the formula:
`\( m = (F)/(a) \)`.

`$\[ \begin{align*} m &= \frac{F_{\text{net}}}{a} \\ &= \frac{18 \, \text{N}}{5 \, \text{m/s}^2} \\ &= \boxed{3.6 \, \text{kg}} \end{align*} \]$`

Therefore, the mass of the fish is
`\(\boxed{3.6 \, \text{kg}}\)`.