Question

Two students are pushing their stalled car down the street. If the net force exerted on

the car by the students is 1000 N at an angle of 20° below horizontal, the horizontal
component of the force is:
(a) greater than 1000 N.
(b) less than 1000 N.
(c) sum of the pushing force and the weight of the students.
(d) (a) and (b)
(e) (a) and (c)

Answer 1

B

Step-by-step explanation:

Because the force has 2 components (horizontal and vertical), the horizontal component must be smaller than the total force. The Pythagorean theorem only adds positive values (because they're squared) so it makes sense. Using trigonometry, 100*cos(-20) yields a horizontal force of around 939.7N, which is less than 1000N.