Mechanics: Newton's Laws of Motion

Newton's Laws of Motion: Audio Guided Solution

Problem 12:

Unfortunately for Vanessa, the wheels on her suitcase are not working. She pulls on the strap in an effort to budge it from rest and drag it to the curbside check-in desk. The free body diagram at the right depicts the forces acting upon the suitcase. Use force values to determine the net force, the mass and the acceleration of the suitcase. The values of the individual forces are:

Fgrav = Fnorm = 207 N
Ftens = 182 N
Ffrict = 166 N.

Audio Guided Solution

Click to show or hide the answer!

Habits of an Effective Problem Solver

  • Read the problem carefully and develop a mental picture of the physical situation. If necessary, sketch a simple diagram of the physical situation to help you visualize it.
  • Identify the known and unknown quantities in an organized manner. Equate given values to the symbols used to represent the corresponding quantity - e.g., vo = 0 m/s; a = 4.2 m/s/s; vf = 22.9 m/s; d = ???.
  • Use physics formulas and conceptual reasoning to plot a strategy for solving for the unknown quantity.
  • Identify the appropriate formula(s) to use.
  • Perform substitutions and algebraic manipulations in order to solve for the unknown quantity.

Read About It!

Get more information on the topic of Newton's Laws of Motion at The Physics Classroom Tutorial.

Return to Problem Set

Return to Overview

View Audio Guided Solution for Problem:

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30