An airline passenger pulls a wheeled suitcase, exerting a force of 60N, at a 35º angle with the horizontal. How much work does she do on the suitcase in pulling it 45m from a taxi to the checkout counter?
2200 J
To calculate the work done by the passenger on the suitcase, we need to use the formula:
Work = Force * Distance * Cos(θ)
In this case, the force applied by the passenger is 60N, the distance moved is 45m, and the angle (θ) is 35º.
First, let's convert the angle from degrees to radians, as trigonometric functions in most programming languages require angle measurements in radians:
θ (in radians) = θ (in degrees) * π / 180
θ (in radians) = 35 * π / 180
Now we can calculate the work done:
Work = 60N * 45m * Cos(35 * π / 180)
To evaluate this expression, you can use a calculator with a cosine function.
The resulting value will be the work done by the passenger on the suitcase.