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Chapter 4: Dynamics: Force and Newton's Laws of Motion

24 problems · 23 figures

4-1 §4.3 source ↗

You may assume data taken from illustrations is accurate to three digits.

A 63.0-kg sprinter starts a race with an acceleration of 4.20 m/s2. What is the net external force on him?

Answer

265 N

4-3 §4.3 source ↗

You may assume data taken from illustrations is accurate to three digits.

A cleaner pushes a 4.50-kg laundry cart in such a way that the net external force on it is 60.0 N. Calculate the magnitude of its acceleration.

Answer

13.3 m/s 2

4-7 §4.3 source ↗

(a) If the rocket sled shown in Figure 4.31 starts with only one rocket burning, what is the magnitude of its acceleration? Assume that the mass of the system is 2100 kg, the thrust T is 2.59×104 N, and the force of friction opposing the motion is known to be 650 N. (b) Why is the acceleration not one-fourth of what it is with all rockets burning?
Figure 4.30 in the book ↗
Figure 4.31 in the book ↗

Answer

(a) 12 m/s 2 .

(b) The acceleration is not one-fourth of what it was with all rockets burning because the frictional force is still as large as it was with all rockets burning.

4-9 §4.3 source ↗

Suppose two children push horizontally, but in exactly opposite directions, on a third child in a wagon. The first child exerts a force of 75.0 N, the second a force of 90.0 N, friction is 12.0 N, and the mass of the third child plus wagon is 23.0 kg.

a. What is the system of interest if the acceleration of the child in the wagon is to be calculated?

b. Draw a free-body diagram, including all forces acting on the system.

c. Calculate the acceleration.

d. What would the acceleration be if friction were 15.0 N?

Figure 4.31 in the book ↗

Answer

(a) The system is the child in the wagon plus the wagon.

(b)

An object represented as a dot labeled m is shown at the center. One force represented by an arrow labeled as vector F sub 2 acts toward the right. Another force represented by an arrow labeled as vector F sub 1 having a slightly shorter length in comparison with F sub 2 acts on the object pointing left. A friction force represented by an arrow labeled as vector f having a small length acts on the object toward the left. Weight, represented by an arrow labeled as vector W, acts on the object downward, and normal force, represented by an arrow labeled as vector N, acts upward, having the same length as W.

(c) a=0.130 m/s2 in the direction of the second child’s push.

(d) a=0.00 m/s2

4-11 §4.3 source ↗

The rocket sled shown in Figure 4.32 accelerates at a rate of 49.0 m/s2. Its passenger has a mass of 75.0 kg. (a) Calculate the horizontal component of the force the seat exerts against his body. Compare this with his weight by using a ratio. (b) Calculate the direction and magnitude of the total force the seat exerts against his body.
Figure 4.31 in the book ↗
Figure 4.32 in the book ↗

Answer

(a) 3.68 × 10 3 N . This force is 5.00 times greater than his weight.

(b) 3750 N; 11.3º above horizontal

4-13 §4.3 source ↗

The weight of an astronaut plus their space suit on the Moon is only 250 N. How much do they weigh on Earth? What is the mass on the Moon? On Earth?
Figure 4.32 in the book ↗

Answer

1.5× 10 3 N, 150 kg, 150 kg

4-15 §4.4 source ↗

What net external force is exerted on a 1100-kg artillery shell fired from a battleship if the shell is accelerated at 2.40×104 m/s2? What is the magnitude of the force exerted on the ship by the artillery shell?

Answer

Force on shell: 2.64×107N

Force exerted on ship = −2.64×107N, by Newton’s third law

4-17 §4.5 source ↗

Two teams of nine members each engage in a tug of war. Each of the first team’s members has an average mass of 68 kg and exerts an average force of 1350 N horizontally. Each of the second team’s members has an average mass of 73 kg and exerts an average force of 1365 N horizontally. (a) What is magnitude of the acceleration of the two teams? (b) What is the tension in the section of rope between the teams?

Answer

(a) 0.11 m/s2
(b) 1.2× 10 4 N

4-19 §4.5 source ↗

(a) Calculate the tension in a vertical strand of spider web if a spider of mass 8.00×10−5 kg hangs motionless on it. (b) Calculate the tension in a horizontal strand of spider web if the same spider sits motionless in the middle of it much like the tightrope walker in Figure 4.16. The strand sags at an angle of 12º below the horizontal. Compare this with the tension in the vertical strand (find their ratio).
Figure 4.16 in the book ↗
The weight of a tightrope walker causes a wire to sag by 5.0 degrees. The system of interest here is the point in the wire at which the tightrope walker is standing.

Answer

(a) 7.84×10-4 N

(b) 1.89×10–3 N. This is 2.41 times the tension in the vertical strand.

4-21 §4.5 source ↗

Show that, as stated in the text, a force F⊥ exerted on a flexible medium at its center and perpendicular to its length (such as on the tightrope wire in Figure 4.16) gives rise to a tension of magnitude T=F⊥2sin(θ).
Figure 4.16 in the book ↗
The weight of a tightrope walker causes a wire to sag by 5.0 degrees. The system of interest here is the point in the wire at which the tightrope walker is standing.

Answer

Newton’s second law applied in vertical direction gives

F y = F − 2 T sin θ = 0 F = 2T sin θ T = F 2 sin θ .

4-23 §4.6 source ↗

A 5.00×105-kg rocket is accelerating straight up. Its engines produce 1.250×107 N of thrust, and air resistance is 4.50×106 N. What is the rocket’s acceleration? Explicitly show how you follow the steps in the Problem-Solving Strategy for Newton’s laws of motion.

Answer

An object of mass m is shown. Three forces acting on it are tension T, shown by an arrow acting vertically upward, and friction f and gravity m g, shown by two arrows acting vertically downward.

Using the free-body diagram:

Fnet= T− f− mg= ma,

so that

a= T−f−mgm= 1.250×107 N−4.50×106 N−(5.00×105 kg)(9.80 m/s2)5.00×105 kg= 6.20 m/s2.

4-25 §4.6 source ↗

Calculate the force a 70.0-kg high jumper must exert on the ground to produce an upward acceleration 4.00 times the acceleration due to gravity. Explicitly show how you follow the steps in the Problem-Solving Strategy for Newton’s laws of motion.

Answer

1. Use Newton’s laws of motion. Two forces are acting on an object of mass m: F, shown by an arrow pointing upward, and its weight w, shown by an arrow pointing downward. Acceleration a is represented by a vector arrow pointing upward. The figure depicts the forces acting on a high jumper.

2. Given : a= 4.00g= (4.00)(9.80 m/s2)= 39.2 m/s2 ; m=70.0 kg,

Find: F.

3. ∑F=+F−w=ma , so that F= ma+ w= ma+ mg= m(a+g).

F= (70.0 kg)[(39.2 m/s2)+(9.80 m/s2)]=3.43×103 N. The force exerted by the high-jumper is actually down on the ground, but F is up from the ground and makes him jump.

4. This result is reasonable, since it is quite possible for a person to exert a force of the magnitude of 103 N.

4-27 §4.6 source ↗

A freight train consists of two 8.00 × 10 4 -kg engines and 45 cars with average masses of 5.50 × 10 4 kg . (a) What force must each engine exert backward on the track to accelerate the train at a rate of 5.00×10–2 m/s2 if the force of friction is 7.50×105 N, assuming the engines exert identical forces? This is not a large frictional force for such a massive system. Rolling friction for trains is small, and consequently trains are very energy-efficient transportation systems. (b) What is the force in the coupling between the 37th and 38th cars (this is the force each exerts on the other), assuming all cars have the same mass and that friction is evenly distributed among all of the cars and engines?

Answer

(a) 4.41×105 N

(b) 1.50×105 N

4-29 §4.6 source ↗

A 1100-kg car pulls a boat on a trailer. (a) What total force resists the motion of the car, boat, and trailer, if the car exerts a 1900-N force on the road and produces an acceleration of 0.550 m/s2? The mass of the boat plus trailer is 700 kg. (b) What is the force in the hitch between the car and the trailer if 80% of the resisting forces are experienced by the boat and trailer?

Answer

(a) 910 N

(b) 1.11×103 N

4-31 §4.6 source ↗

Two children pull a third child on a snow saucer sled exerting forces F 1 and F 2 as shown from above in Figure 4.35. Find the acceleration of the 49.00-kg sled and child system. Note that the direction of the frictional force is unspecified; it will be in the opposite direction of the sum of F 1 and F 2 .
Figure 4.34 in the book ↗
Figure 4.35 in the book ↗
An overhead view of the horizontal forces acting on a child’s snow saucer sled.

Answer

a = 0.139 m/s2, θ = 12.4º north of east

4-33 §4.6 source ↗

What force is exerted on the tooth in Figure 4.37 if the tension in the wire is 25.0 N? Note that the force applied to the tooth is smaller than the tension in the wire, but this is necessitated by practical considerations of how force can be applied in the mouth. Explicitly show how you follow steps in the Problem-Solving Strategy for Newton’s laws of motion.
Figure 4.36 in the book ↗
Figure 4.37 in the book ↗
Braces are used to apply forces to teeth to realign them. Shown in this figure are the tensions applied by the wire to the protruding tooth. The total force applied to the tooth by the wire, Fapp, points straight toward the back of the mouth.

Answer

1. Use Newton’s laws since we are looking for forces.

2. Draw a free-body diagram: A horizontal dotted line with two vectors extending downward from the mid-point of the dotted line, both at angles of fifteen degrees. A third vector points straight downward from the intersection of the first two angles, bisecting them; it is perpendicular to the dotted line.

3. The tension is given as T=25.0 N. Find Fapp. Using Newton’s laws gives: Σ Fy=0, so that applied force is due to the y-components of the two tensions: Fapp= 2 T sin θ= 2(25.0 N)sin(15º)= 12.9 N

The x-components of the tension cancel. ∑Fx=0.

4. This seems reasonable, since the applied tensions should be greater than the force applied to the tooth.

4-40 §4.7 source ↗

A flea jumps by exerting a force of 1.20×10−5 N straight down on the ground. A breeze blowing on the flea parallel to the ground exerts a force of 0.500×10−6 N on the flea. Find the direction and magnitude of the acceleration of the flea if its mass is 6.00×10−7 kg. Do not neglect the gravitational force.

Answer

10.2 m/s 2 , 4.67º from vertical

4-42 §4.7 source ↗

A 76.0-kg person is being pulled away from a burning building as shown in Figure 4.40. Calculate the tension in the two ropes if the person is momentarily motionless. Include a free-body diagram in your solution.
Figure 4.39 in the book ↗
Achilles tendon
Figure 4.40 in the book ↗
The force T2 needed to hold steady the person being rescued from the fire is less than her weight and less than the force T1 in the other rope, since the more vertical rope supports a greater part of her weight (a vertical force).

Answer

An object of mass m is shown being pulled by two ropes. Tension T sub two acts toward the right at an angle of ten degrees above the horizontal. Another rope makes an angle fifteen degrees to the left of the vertical direction, and tension in the rope is T sub one, shown by a vector arrow. Weight w is acting vertically downward.

T 1 = 736 N

T 2 = 194 N

4-44 §4.7 source ↗

Integrated Concepts When starting a foot race, a 70.0-kg sprinter exerts an average force of 650 N backward on the ground for 0.800 s. (a) What is his final speed? (b) How far does he travel?
Figure 4.40 in the book ↗
The force T2 needed to hold steady the person being rescued from the fire is less than her weight and less than the force T1 in the other rope, since the more vertical rope supports a greater part of her weight (a vertical force).

Answer

(a) 7.43 m/s

(b) 2.97 m

4-46 §4.7 source ↗

Integrated Concepts A basketball player jumps straight up for a ball. To do this, they lower their body 0.300 m and then accelerate through this distance by forcefully straightening their legs. This player leaves the floor with a vertical velocity sufficient to carry the player 0.900 m above the floor. (a) Calculate the player's velocity when they leave the floor. (b) Calculate their acceleration while they are straightening their legs. They go from zero to the velocity found in part (a) in a distance of 0.300 m. (c) Calculate the force they exert on the floor to do this, given that their mass is 110 kg.
Figure 4.40 in the book ↗
The force T2 needed to hold steady the person being rescued from the fire is less than her weight and less than the force T1 in the other rope, since the more vertical rope supports a greater part of her weight (a vertical force).

Answer

(a) 4.20 m/s

(b) 29.4 m/s2

(c) 4.31×103 N

4-48 §4.7 source ↗

Integrated Concepts Repeat Exercise 4.47 for a shell fired at an angle 10.0º from the vertical.
Figure 4.40 in the book ↗
The force T2 needed to hold steady the person being rescued from the fire is less than her weight and less than the force T1 in the other rope, since the more vertical rope supports a greater part of her weight (a vertical force).

Answer

(a) 47.1 m/s

(b) 2.47×103 m/s2

(c) 6.18×103 N . The average force is 252 times the shell’s weight.

4-52 §4.8 source ↗

(a) What is the strength of the weak nuclear force relative to the strong nuclear force? (b) What is the strength of the weak nuclear force relative to the electromagnetic force? Since the weak nuclear force acts at only very short distances, such as inside nuclei, where the strong and electromagnetic forces also act, it might seem surprising that we have any knowledge of it at all. We have such knowledge because the weak nuclear force is responsible for beta decay, a type of nuclear decay not explained by other forces.

Answer

(a) 1×10−13

(b) 1×10−11

4-54 §4.8 source ↗

What is the ratio of the strength of the strong nuclear force to that of the electromagnetic force? Based on this ratio, you might expect that the strong force dominates the nucleus, which is true for small nuclei. Large nuclei, however, have sizes greater than the range of the strong nuclear force. At these sizes, the electromagnetic force begins to affect nuclear stability. These facts will be used to explain nuclear fusion and fission later in this text.

Answer

10 2

4-55 §4.8 source ↗

Critical Thinking Two boxes of equal mass slide start from rest and slide with different horizontal applied forces across frictionless surfaces to reach the same distance away. Box A has a horizontal force of three times that of box B. (a) Which box is traveling faster at this distance away from the starting point? Briefly explain your reasoning. (b) Based on experimental data, an equation that fits the data is suggested for the final speed, V, which may not be correct: V=KF, where K is a constant with appropriate units and F is the horizontal applied force. Is this equation consistent with your answer from part a? Explain why or why not. Does this equation make sense? Explain why or why not. (c) Now the applied force can be any value and the distance from the starting point is measured when the speed gets to a consistent value. Graph the distance the box gets to at a given speed as a function of the applied force.

Answer

(a) Box A travels faster at the finishing distance since a greater force with equal mass results in a greater acceleration. Also, a greater acceleration over the same distance results in a greater final speed.

(b) i. Yes, it is consistent because a greater force results in a greater final speed. ii. It does not make sense because V= 2(f/m)x = K (F) .

(c)

The figure is a plot of x as a function of F. The curve starts at a high value of x just to the right of the x axis and decreases in both value and slope, tending asymptotically to the F axis. Under the graph it is noted that x is proportional to 1 over F.

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Problems and answers are adapted from College Physics 2e by Paul Peter Urone, Roger Hinrichs, Kim Dirks and Manjula Sharma, OpenStax, and are used under the CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 licence. Access for free at https://openstax.org/books/college-physics-2e/pages/1-introduction-to-science-and-the-realm-of-physics-physical-quantities-and-units. Illustrations: Copyright Rice University, OpenStax, under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license. This adaptation is released under the same licence, is non-commercial, and is neither affiliated with nor endorsed by OpenStax or Rice University.