Question

Sahil is sitting in a wagon at rest when his older sister, Joy, applies a 72 N net force horizontally to the wagon for a time of 3 s. The combined mass of Sahil and the wagon are 48 kg.

Calculate the acceleration
A) 0.5 m/s²
B) 1.5 m/s²
C) 2.0 m/s²
D) 3.0 m/s²

Answer 1

Using Newton's second law, the acceleration of Sahil and the wagon is found to be 1.5 m/s² when applying a 72 N net force to a combined mass of 48 kg.

Step-by-step explanation:

To calculate the acceleration of the wagon with Sahil in it, we can apply Newton's second law of motion, which states that the net force acting on an object is equal to the mass of the object multiplied by its acceleration (F = ma). In this case, we are given a net force (F) of 72 N and a combined mass (m) of 48 kg. Using the formula, we rearrange it to solve for acceleration (a): a = F/m. Plugging the values into the formula gives us: a = 72 N / 48 kg = 1.5 m/s²

Thus, the acceleration of Sahil and the wagon is 1.5 m/s², which corresponds to option B).

To calculate the acceleration, we can use Newton's second law of motion, which states that F = ma, where F is the net force applied, m is the mass of the object, and a is the acceleration. In this case, Sahil and the wagon have a combined mass of 48 kg and a net force of 72 N is applied horizontally for a time of 3 seconds. To calculate the acceleration, we can rearrange the equation to solve for a: a = F/m. Plugging in the values, we get a = 72 N / 48 kg = 1.5 m/s².