Final answer:
The Physics question concerns calculating the maximum acceleration of a utility truck based on the friction between the drive wheels and concrete, and whether a cabinet on the truck bed will slip. It also asks for the recalculated maximum acceleration assuming the truck has four-wheel drive.
Step-by-step explanation:
The subject of this question is Physics, specifically relating to concepts of force, mass, friction, and acceleration. We start by recognizing that the frictional force between the truck's wheels and the concrete provides the maximum force which, as per Newton's second law, sets the limit to the maximum acceleration. With half the weight of the truck (1.00 × 10³ kg) on its two drive wheels, and the coefficient of static friction (μ) for dry concrete being approximately 0.7, we can calculate the maximum force of friction (Ffriction = μ · m · g).
To determine the maximum acceleration (a), Newton's second law (∑F = m · a) is used where ∑F is the net force which, in this case, is the force of friction we calculated. Then, the acceleration can be determined by rearranging the formula to a = Ffriction / m. To answer part b, we need to know if the static friction between the metal cabinet and the wooden bed is enough to overcome the force due to the truck's acceleration, which involves calculating if the force of static friction (using the coefficient of static friction for metal on wood, typically around 0.5) is greater than the force exerted on the cabinet due to the truck's acceleration.
Finally, when solving for a truck with four-wheel drive, the weight supported and consequently the frictional force is distributed among all four wheels. This indicates that the force of friction achievable for a four-wheel-drive setup will allow for greater maximum acceleration because the total available friction force is increased.