Question

Recall a setup like in the friction experiment. Here you keep the plank tilted at 30º and place the wooden block on it, and you see that the wooden block starts sliding downwards at an increasing speed. Calculate the acceleration of the wooden block, if it's mass is 500 g, and the coefficient of kinetic friction is 0.20

Answer 1

The acceleration of the wooden block is 1.96 m/s².

Step-by-step explanation:

To calculate the acceleration of the wooden block, we need to use the equation:

acceleration = (net force) / (mass)

The net force can be calculated using the equation:

net force = friction force

The friction force can be calculated using the equation:

friction force = coefficient of friction × normal force

Given that the mass of the block is 500 g (0.5 kg) and the coefficient of kinetic friction is 0.20, we can find the normal force using the equation:

normal force = mass × gravitational acceleration

Substituting the values into the equations, we can calculate the acceleration:

normal force = 0.5 kg × 9.8 m/s²

= 4.9 N

friction force = 0.20 × 4.9 N

= 0.98 N

net force = friction force = 0.98 N

acceleration = net force / mass = 0.98 N / 0.5 kg

= 1.96 m/s²