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) 0.67 m/s²
B) 2.00 m/s²
C) 4.00 m/s²
D) 5.00 m/s²

Answer 1

To determine the acceleration, the net force is divided by the total mass of the team (400 N / 300 kg), resulting in 1.33 m/s². However, this does not match any of the provided options, indicating there may be an error in the options or the student's recollection.

Step-by-step explanation:

The question relates to Newton's second law of motion, which states that the acceleration (a) of an object is directly proportional to the net force (F) acting on it and inversely proportional to its mass (m), given by the formula F = ma. To find the acceleration when there is a net force of 400 N to the right, we need to calculate the total mass of the team and then use the formula to solve for acceleration.

With 5 people on each team and an average mass of 60 kg per person, the total mass of one team is 5 people × 60 kg/person = 300 kg. Using the formula a = F/m, where F is the net force of 400 N and m is the total mass of 300 kg, the acceleration would be:

a = 400 N / 300 kg = 1.33 m/s²

However, since none of the given options matches the calculated value, it's possible there may be a typo in the provided options or in the student's recollection of the problem.