Question

The box shown on the rough ramp above is sliding up the ramp.Draw a Free-Body Diagram and use it to:calculate the normal force on the box

Answer 1

The magnitude of the normal force: 75.1 N

Step-by-step explanation:

The free-body diagram showing all forces acting on the box is:

Here is a little explanation of the diagram. What we are doing is we are refinding our coordinate system such that the y axis is along the normal force Fn and the x-axis is along with the tangential force Ft. Remember that in this coordinate system, we have to decompose the gravitation force Fg into normal and tangential components.

Now the Normal force acting on the box is Fn. What is its magnitude? We can easily find it using some trigonometry.

`F_N=(10kg\cdot9.8m/s^2)\cos (40^o)`

which evaluates to give

`\boxed{F_N=75.1N}`

Hence, the normal force on the box is 75.1 newtons.