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Deck of Cards
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Excerpt

A person pushes a box of mass 15 kg along a smooth floor by applying a perfectly horizontal force F. In the process, the 15 kg box pushes against another box with a mass of 10 kg and causes it to move.

The boxes accelerate horizontally at a rate of 2.0 m/s2.

Card
labelPart A

Part A

What is the magnitude of F?

Solution

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idsysa
System:
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idsysa

Both boxes together as a single .

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idinta
Interactions:
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idinta

External influences from the person (applied force) the earth (gravity) and the floor (normal force).

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idmoda
Model:
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idmoda

.

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idappa
Approach:

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idappa
Card
labelPart B

Part B

What is the force applied on the front (10 kg) box by the rear (15 kg) box?

Solution

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idsysb
System:
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idsysb

This time, we will focus only on the front box, which will be treated as a .

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idintb
Interactions:
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idintb

The front box is subject to external influences from the rear box, the earth (gravity) and the floor (normal force).

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idmodb
Model:
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idmodb

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idappb
Approach:

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Card
labelPart C

Part C

Suppose we now consider the rear (15 kg) box as an independent system. How can we reconcile the fact that the force applied by the person to this box is 50 N, but the 15 kg box only accelerates at a rate of 2 m/s2?

Solution

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idsysc
System:
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idsysc

The 15 kg box as a .

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idintc
Interactions:
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idintc

The rear box is subject to external influences from the person, the rear box, the earth (gravity) and the floor (normal force).

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idmodc
Model:
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idmodc

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idappc
Approach:

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Wiki Markup
{composition-setup}{composition-setup} {table:border=1|frame=void|rules=cols|cellpadding=8|cellspacing=0} {tr:valign=top} {td:width=350|bgcolor=#F2F2F2} {live-template:Left Column} {td} {td} !pushingbox.png! {deck:id=bigdeck} {card:label=Part A} h3. Part A {excerpt}A person pushes a box of mass 15 kg along a smooth floor by applying a perfectly horizontal force _F_.{excerpt} The box accelerates horizontally at a rate of 2.0 m/s{color:black}^2^{color}. What is the magnitude of _F_? h4. Solution {toggle-cloak:id=sysa} *System:* {cloak:id=sysa} Box as [point particle].{cloak} {toggle-cloak:id=inta} *Interactions:* {cloak:id=inta}External influences from the person (applied force) the earth (gravity) and the floor (normal force).{cloak} {toggle-cloak:id=moda} *Model:* {cloak:id=moda}[Point Particle Dynamics].{cloak} {toggle-cloak:id=appa} *Approach:* {cloak:id=appa} The word *smooth* in the problem statement is a keyword, telling us that the floor exerts no horizontal force on the box. Thus, [Newton's 2nd Law|Newton's Second Law] for the _x_ direction can be written: {latex}\begin{large}\[ \sum F_{x} = F = ma_{x} = \mbox{30 N}\] \end{large}{latex} {cloak} {card} {card:label=Part B} h3. Part B A person pushes a box of mass 15 kg along a smooth floor by applying a perfectly horizontal force _F_. The box moves horizontally at a constant speed of 2.0 m/s in the direction of the person's applied force. What is the magnitude of _F_? h4. Solution {toggle-cloak:id=sysb} *System, Interactions and Model:* {cloak:id=sysb} As in Part A.{cloak} {toggle-cloak:id=appb} *Approach:* {cloak:id=appb} Just as above, [Newton's 2nd Law|Newton's Second Law] for the _x_ direction can be written: {latex}\begin{large}\[ \sum F_{x} = F = ma_{x}\] \end{large}{latex} This time, however, the acceleration requires some thought. The speed of the box and its direction of motion are constant. Thus, by definition, the acceleration is zero. This implies: {latex}\begin{large}\[ F = ma_{x} = \mbox{(15 kg)(0 m/s}^{2}) = \mbox{0 N} \] \end{large}{latex} {info}This result is probably not consistent with your everyday experience. The reason for this is that it is very difficult to find a box and floor combination with zero friction. Instead, consider the effort that would be required to keep an air-hockey puck moving at constant speed on the air-table (friction is very small) or to keep a soccer ball rolling at constant speed on a smooth, level floor (friction is unimportant since the ball is rolling).{info} {cloak} {card} {deck} {td} {tr} {table} {live-template:RELATE license}