Question

A boy pulls the handle of a lawn mower at an angle of 30° to the horizontal with a force

of 120N. Calculate the work done when the mower moves through a distance of 12.8m.
(3mks)​

Answer 1

If the mower is pulled over a flat horizontal surface, then first get the component of the force in the direction of the mower's displacement:

(120 N) cos(30°) = 60 √3 N ≈ 103.923 N

Then the work done by the boy on the mower over a distance of 12.8 m is

(103.923 N) (12.8 m) ≈ 1330.2 Nm ≈ 1330 J