Question

A red and a blue tractor pull on a large boulder that has a mass of 500 kg. The red tractor pulls with a force of 3000 N west. The blue tractor pulls with a force of 2500 N east.

1.) What is Fnet on the boulder?
2.) What is the boulders acceleration
Use the following formulas.
Weight= m x g
Acceleration=Fnet/mass
Fnet=\F

Answer 1

1. The net force on the boulder is -500 N (west) due to the red and blue tractors' opposing forces.

2. The boulder's acceleration is -1 m/s² (west), determined using Newton's second law with a mass of 500 kg.

To solve the problem, let's first clarify the direction convention. Let east be the positive direction, and west be the negative direction.

1. Net Force (
`\(F_{\text{net}}`):

`\[ F_{\text{net}} = F_{\text{red}} + F_{\text{blue}} \]`

`\[ F_{\text{net}} = (-3000 \, \text{N}) + 2500 \, \text{N} \]`

`\[ F_{\text{net}} = -500 \, \text{N} \]`

Therefore, the net force on the boulder is
`\( -500 \, \text{N} \)` (to the west).

2. Acceleration (a):

Using Newton's second law:

`\[ a = \frac{F_{\text{net}}}{m} \]`

`\[ a = \frac{-500 \, \text{N}}{500 \, \text{kg}} \]`

`\[ a = -1 \, \text{m/s}^2 \]`

Therefore, the boulder's acceleration is
`\( -1 \, \text{m/s}^2 \)` (to the west).

Note: The negative sign in both cases indicates that the acceleration and net force are in the opposite direction to the force applied by the red tractor (which is to the west).