On vacation, your 1300 kg car pulls a 540 kg trailer away from a stop light with an acceleration of 1.80 m/s2.

What is the net force acting on the car?

I have determined:
1) the force acting on the car by the trailer is 972 N.
2) The force acting on the trailer by the car is 972 N.
3) And the force required to produce such an acceleration is 3312 N.

To determine the net force acting on the car, we can use Newton's second law of motion, which states that the net force on an object is equal to its mass multiplied by its acceleration.

Given:
Mass of the car (m1) = 1300 kg
Mass of the trailer (m2) = 540 kg
Acceleration (a) = 1.80 m/s^2

1) The force acting on the car by the trailer (F1) is 972 N.
2) The force acting on the trailer by the car (F2) is 972 N.
3) The force required to produce such an acceleration (F3) is 3312 N.

The net force acting on the car is the vector sum of these forces, given by the equation:

Net force (F_net) = F1 + F2 + F3

F_net = 972 N + 972 N + 3312 N
F_net = 5256 N

Therefore, the net force acting on the car is 5256 N.

To find the net force acting on the car, we can start by understanding Newton's second law of motion, which states that the net force on an object is equal to its mass multiplied by its acceleration:

Net force = mass × acceleration

So, in this case, we have the following values:

Mass of the car (m1) = 1300 kg
Mass of the trailer (m2) = 540 kg
Acceleration (a) = 1.80 m/s^2

Now, let's calculate the net force acting on the car by considering the forces acting on it:

Force acting on the car by the trailer = 972 N

Hence, the force acting on the car by the trailer is equal to the net force acting on the car. This means that the net force acting on the car is 972 N.

Therefore, the net force acting on the car is 972 N.

The net force on the car must be

Mcar * acceleration = 2340 N

The trailer exerts a backward force on the car, but that is equal to the additional force on the car's wheels that is need to accelerate them both together. Remember they are only asking for net force