Question

2. A student moves a box of books down the hall by pulling on a rope attached to the box. The studentpulls with a force of 185N, at an angle 25 degrees above the horizontal. The box has a mass of 35 kg.Disregarding friction, What is the net force on the box?

Answer 1

The force diagram of the given problem is shown below:

where,

F: applied force = 185N

Fx: horizontal component of F = 185N*cos25 = 167.67N

Fy: vertical component of F = 185N*sin25 = 78.18N

W: weight of the box

N: normal force

The net force is in the direction of the motion. It means that vertical forces does not generate a net force.

Due to the friction is negligible, the horizontal component of the appiled force is the net force, then:

Fnet = Fx = 167.67N