A sled on ice moves in the ways described in
the questions below. Friction is so small that
it can be ignored. A person wearing spiked
shoes standing on the ice can apply a force to
the sled and push it along the ice.Which force would keep the sled moving
toward the right and speeding up at a steady
rate (constant acceleration)?
There is not sufficient information to give a numerical answer.
To keep the sled moving toward the right and speeding up at a steady rate (constant acceleration), a force must be applied in the same direction (to the right) as the desired motion. According to Newton's second law of motion, the force required to achieve this would be the net force acting on the sled.
The net force is equal to the product of mass and acceleration (F = m * a), where mass is the mass of the sled, and acceleration is the desired constant acceleration.
Therefore, the force that would keep the sled moving toward the right and speeding up at a steady rate is the net force, which can be provided by the person pushing the sled in the same direction as the desired motion (to the right).
To determine the force that would keep the sled moving toward the right and speeding up at a steady rate, we need to consider Newton's Second Law of Motion. This law states that the acceleration of an object is directly proportional to the net force acting on it and inversely proportional to its mass.
In this scenario, the force applied by the person wearing spiked shoes is responsible for accelerating the sled. Since there is no friction to oppose the motion, the only force acting on the sled is the force applied by the person.
To keep the sled moving toward the right and speeding up at a constant acceleration, the applied force must be greater than the force of inertia (the force that opposes the change in motion due to the sled's mass). Therefore, the force applied by the person must be greater than the force of inertia.
To calculate the force of inertia, we need to know the mass of the sled. Once we have the mass, we can use Newton's Second Law (F=ma) to find the force required to achieve the desired acceleration.
To summarize:
1. Identify the mass of the sled.
2. Determine the desired acceleration.
3. Use Newton's Second Law (F=ma) to calculate the force required.
4. The force applied by the person must be greater than the force of inertia to keep the sled moving toward the right and speeding up at a constant acceleration.