Question

Two people push on a boulder to try to move it. The mass of the boulder is 815 kg. One person pushes north with a force of 65 N. The other pushes west with a force of 42 N. Predict the magnitude of the acceleration (in m/s2) of the boulder. Assume that friction is negligible.

Answer 1

`0.095 m/s^2`

Step-by-step explanation:

As the 2 force directions are perpendicular (North vs West), we can calculate the magnitude of the net force using the following equation

`F = √(65^2 + 42^2) = 77.4 N`

Assuming negligible friction, from here we can calculate the acceleration in accordance to Newton's 2nd law of motion

`a = F/m = 77.4 / 815 = 0.095 m/s^2`