Hey! I've tried using equations such as weight=m*g for this problem, but I don't think I'm doing it right. Can someone help?
A helicopter was seen carrying a heavy bag of sand (1210.0 kg). A student figured that the acceleration of the sand bag then was 1.4 m/s2 in the downward direction.
a) What is in Newtons the weight of the sand bag? (Use the upward direction as positive.)
b) What is in Newtons the net force acting on the sand bag? (Use the upward direction as positive.)
c) If we ignore the effects of air resistance, how many forces were acting on the sand bag?
d) What is in Newtons the force the helicopter exerts on the sand bag? (Use the upward direction as positive.)
up is +
a) gravity force down = weight = -m g = -1210*9.81 = -11870 N
b) F is positive up
F = m a = 1210(-1.4)
F = - 1696 N
c)gravity pushing down, helicopter pushing up
d)lift is up
lift - 11870 = m a = -1696
lift = 11870 - 1696 = 10176 N up
To solve the problem, we will use Newton's second law of motion, which states that the net force acting on an object is equal to the mass of the object multiplied by its acceleration (F = m * a). Let's go through each part of the problem step by step:
a) To find the weight of the sandbag, we can use the equation weight = mass * acceleration due to gravity (g) in the downward direction. The acceleration due to gravity is approximately 9.8 m/s^2. Therefore, the weight of the bag can be calculated as follows:
weight = mass * g
= 1210.0 kg * 9.8 m/s^2
≈ 11858 N
So the weight of the sandbag is approximately 11858 Newtons.
b) The net force acting on the sandbag can be found using Newton's second law of motion, which states that F = m * a. Since the acceleration is already given as 1.4 m/s^2 in the downward direction, we can calculate the net force as follows:
net force = mass * acceleration
= 1210.0 kg * (-1.4 m/s^2) (the negative sign indicates downward direction)
≈ -1694 N
So the net force acting on the sandbag is approximately -1694 Newtons.
c) If we ignore the effects of air resistance, there are two forces acting on the sandbag: its weight (which acts in the downward direction) and the force exerted by the helicopter (which acts in the upward direction). These forces are equal in magnitude but opposite in direction.
d) The force the helicopter exerts on the sandbag can be calculated by considering the net force. Since the net force is equal to the force exerted by the helicopter (in the upward direction) minus the weight of the sandbag (in the downward direction), we have:
net force = force by helicopter - weight
force by helicopter = net force + weight
= (-1694 N) + (11858 N)
≈ 10164 N
So the force exerted by the helicopter on the sandbag is approximately 10164 Newtons in the upward direction.
By using the equations and principles from Newton's laws of motion, you can solve for different quantities like weight, net force, and the forces acting on an object.