Mechanics: Newton's Laws of Motion

Newton's Laws of Motion: Audio Guided Solution

Problem 14:

It's Friday night and Skyler has been assigned the noble task of baby-sitting Casey, his 2-year old brother. He puts a crash helmet on Casey, places him in the red wagon and takes him on a stroll through the neighborhood. As Skyler starts across the street, he exerts a 52 N forward force on the wagon. There is a 24 N resistance force and the wagon and Casey have a combined weight of 304 N. Construct a free body diagram depicting the types of forces acting upon the wagon. Then determine the net force, mass and acceleration of the wagon.

Audio Guided Solution

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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.

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