Question

There is a tug-of-war game going on. There are 5 people on each team with an average mass of 60 kg. What is the acceleration if there is a net force of 400 N to the right?

a) 1 m/s² to the right
b) 4 m/s² to the right
c) 20 m/s² to the right
d) 60 m/s² to the right

Answer 1

Using Newton's second law, we found that the acceleration of the tug-of-war participants is 1.33 m/s² to the right, which means the closest correct option would be (a) 1 m/s² to the right.

Step-by-step explanation:

To determine the acceleration of the tug-of-war game participants, we can use Newton's second law of motion, which states that force equals mass times acceleration (F = ma). First, we need to calculate the total mass of one team. With 5 people on each team and an average mass of 60 kg per person, the total mass is 5 × 60 kg = 300 kg. Now, we can use the given net force of 400 N to find the acceleration. Hence, the acceleration 'a' is calculated using the formula 'a = F / m'. Plugging in the values, we get a = 400 N / 300 kg = 1.33 m/s² to the right. This means that none of the provided options is correct, but the closest one is (a) 1 m/s² to the right.