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During a football workout, two linemen are pushing the coach on the sled. The combined mass of the sled and the coach is 300 kg. The coefficient of friction between the sled and the grass is 0.800. The sled accelerates at a rate of 0.580 m/s². Determine the force applied to the sled by the lineman.

a. 174 N
b. 246 N
c. 318 N
d. 390 N

1 Answer

3 votes

Final answer:

To find the force applied by the linemen, Newton's second law is used along with the formula for calculating friction, leading to a total force far exceeding the provided options.

Step-by-step explanation:

To determine the force applied to the sled by the linemen during the football workout, we need to consider the net force acting on the system and apply Newton's second law of motion. Newton's second law states that the net force on an object is equal to its mass times its acceleration (Fnet = m * a).

The net force is the sum of all forces acting on the sled, which includes the force the linemen apply (Flinemen) and the force of friction (Ffriction) opposing the motion. The force of friction can be calculated using the formula Ffriction = μ * m * g, where μ is the coefficient of friction, m is the mass of the sled and coach, and g is the acceleration due to gravity (approximately 9.8 m/s²).

First, we calculate the force of friction: Ffriction = 0.800 * 300 kg * 9.8 m/s² = 2352 N. To find the force applied by the linemen, we can rearrange Newton's second law as Flinemen = m * a + Ffriction and then plug in the values: Flinemen = 300 kg * 0.580 m/s² + 2352 N = 174 N + 2352 N = 2526 N.

However, none of the options match the calculated value, suggesting there's a mistake in the options provided or in the interpretation of the question. It's crucial to carefully re-check all calculations and the information given in the question.

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