Physics › Introduction to Forces
A car rounds a perfectly circular turn at a constant speed. This causes the acceleration to __________.
remain constant
increase
decrease
become zero
not be predictable
Acceleration results from a change in velocity. Despite the speed remaining constant, velocity is a vector quantity and will change if the car changes direction. In rounding the turn, there is a change in the direction of the velocity, but not in the magnitude. This change in direction causes a non-zero acceleration.
The acceleration will remain equal to the equation for centripetal acceleration:
As long as the magnitude of the velocity and the radius of the turn do not change, the acceleration will remain constant.
A car rounds a perfectly circular turn at a constant speed. This causes the acceleration to __________.
remain constant
increase
decrease
become zero
not be predictable
Acceleration results from a change in velocity. Despite the speed remaining constant, velocity is a vector quantity and will change if the car changes direction. In rounding the turn, there is a change in the direction of the velocity, but not in the magnitude. This change in direction causes a non-zero acceleration.
The acceleration will remain equal to the equation for centripetal acceleration:
As long as the magnitude of the velocity and the radius of the turn do not change, the acceleration will remain constant.
You are accelerating your car down a straight, level road. Which free body diagram represent the forces on the car? Neglect the effect of air resistance.
Diagram A
Diagram B
Diagram C
Diagram D
Begin by identifying what forces are acting on the car. To start, the car has weight (the gravitational force) acting on it. This force points down. The car also has a normal force acting on it keeping it from falling through the road. This force points upward and is equal in magnitude (size) to the weight force. The car is accelerating, in the horizontal direction, which means that the forces must be unbalanced. If the forces were balanced in the horizontal direction, the car would either not be moving or moving at a constant velocity. The car likely is also undergoing friction which would be less than the accelerating force. Therefore diagram C is correct as there is an unbalanced force in the horizontal direction with a friction force opposing the motion.
You are accelerating your car down a straight, level road. Which free body diagram represent the forces on the car? Neglect the effect of air resistance.
Diagram A
Diagram B
Diagram C
Diagram D
Begin by identifying what forces are acting on the car. To start, the car has weight (the gravitational force) acting on it. This force points down. The car also has a normal force acting on it keeping it from falling through the road. This force points upward and is equal in magnitude (size) to the weight force. The car is accelerating, in the horizontal direction, which means that the forces must be unbalanced. If the forces were balanced in the horizontal direction, the car would either not be moving or moving at a constant velocity. The car likely is also undergoing friction which would be less than the accelerating force. Therefore diagram C is correct as there is an unbalanced force in the horizontal direction with a friction force opposing the motion.
What force is required produce an acceleration of on an object of mass
?
Newton's second law states that:
We are given the mass of the object and the acceleration. Using these values, we can solve for the necessary force.
What force is required produce an acceleration of on an object of mass
?
Newton's second law states that:
We are given the mass of the object and the acceleration. Using these values, we can solve for the necessary force.
Based on the diagram, which of the following statements is not true?
In this diagram, represents the force due to friction. The equation for the force due to friction is
, where
is the coefficient of friction.
In this case, represents the normal force. We can re-write the equation for friction:
can be re-written in terms of the angle, but will always need to be multiplied by the coefficient of friction in order to give an equation for
.
The other equations are true.
and
form a right angle, so the Pythagorean theorem applies.
is the normal force, which is, by definition, equal and opposite the vertical force of gravity.
is the total force of gravity, which will be equal to the mass times the acceleration of gravity.
- the triangle formed by
,
, and
is similar to the triangle formed by the surface,
, and
, meaning that these angles must be equal.
An object moves forward with a constant velocity. What additional information do we need to know to determine the force acting upon the object?
The distance the object travels
The force is
The mass of the object
The velocity of the object
The time the object is in motion
Force is given by the product of mass and acceleration. If an object has a constant velocity, then it has no acceleration.
If an object has no acceleration, then it must also have no net force.
No additional information is needed to solve this question.
Based on the diagram, which of the following statements is not true?
In this diagram, represents the force due to friction. The equation for the force due to friction is
, where
is the coefficient of friction.
In this case, represents the normal force. We can re-write the equation for friction:
can be re-written in terms of the angle, but will always need to be multiplied by the coefficient of friction in order to give an equation for
.
The other equations are true.
and
form a right angle, so the Pythagorean theorem applies.
is the normal force, which is, by definition, equal and opposite the vertical force of gravity.
is the total force of gravity, which will be equal to the mass times the acceleration of gravity.
- the triangle formed by
,
, and
is similar to the triangle formed by the surface,
, and
, meaning that these angles must be equal.
An object moves forward with a constant velocity. What additional information do we need to know to determine the force acting upon the object?
The distance the object travels
The force is
The mass of the object
The velocity of the object
The time the object is in motion
Force is given by the product of mass and acceleration. If an object has a constant velocity, then it has no acceleration.
If an object has no acceleration, then it must also have no net force.
No additional information is needed to solve this question.