Question

A 5 kg box is sliding across a level floor. The box is acted upon by a force of 27 newtons east and a frictional force of 17 newtons west. What is the magnitude of the acceleration of the box? Type only numbers. Do not include the units of m/s2.

Answer 1

The acceleration of the box is 2.

Step-by-step explanation:

According to Newton's second law of motion, the acceleration of any object will be directly proportional to the net unbalanced force acting on the object and inversely proportional to the mass of the object.

Net force = Mass × Acceleration

So
`Acceleration = (Net force)/(Mass)`

Since in this case, the box is experiencing a force from east of magnitude 27 N and resisting force of about 17 N from west. So the net force will be the difference of acting and reacting force.

Net force = 27-17 = 10 N.

Thus,
`Acceleration = (10 N)/(5 kg)`

So 2
`m/s^(2)` is the acceleration of the box. Thus the magnitude of acceleration of the box is 2.