A cyclist and her bicycle have a combined mass75.okg. If the frictional force acting
against the of the bicycle is -23.5, what
force must the cyclist apply to maintain a
constant velocity?
An equal and opposite force to the friction will maintain a constant velocity.
You left out a word between "the" and "of", and did not say what the units of force are. I assume they are Newtons.
The forward force is applied to the wheels by the road. The frictional force is partly aerodynamic drag.
To find the force the cyclist must apply to maintain a constant velocity, we need to consider the forces acting on the cyclist and the bicycle.
In this case, the only force acting against the motion is the frictional force, which is given as -23.5 N. Since the direction of the frictional force is opposite to the direction of motion, its value is negative.
To maintain a constant velocity, the net force acting on an object must be zero. This means that the force the cyclist applies must balance out the frictional force.
Therefore, we can set up the equation:
Force applied by the cyclist - Frictional force = 0
Force applied by the cyclist = Frictional force
Force applied by the cyclist = -(-23.5 N)
Force applied by the cyclist = 23.5 N
So, the cyclist must apply a force of 23.5 Newtons to maintain a constant velocity.