Two objects are tied together and placed on a frictionless table. One is pushed off the edge of the table so it falls, dragging the second along the surface of the table. The magnitude of the acceleration of the falling object is _______.
32/ft/sec^2
or 9.8 m/sec^2
To determine the magnitude of the acceleration of the falling object, we need to consider the forces acting on it.
In this scenario, there are two objects tied together. Let's call the falling object "Object A" and the second object "Object B". Object A falls off the edge of the table due to the force of gravity acting on it.
Since the table is frictionless, there is no horizontal force acting on Object A as it falls. Thus, the only force acting on Object A is the force of gravity pulling it downward. According to Newton's second law of motion, the net force acting on an object is equal to the product of its mass and acceleration: F = m * a.
Since the only force acting on Object A is its weight (mg) and we assume that the mass of Object A is m, we can write the equation for the net force acting on Object A as F = m * g, where g is the acceleration due to gravity (approximately 9.8 m/s^2).
Therefore, the magnitude of the acceleration of the falling object is equal to the acceleration due to gravity, which is approximately 9.8 m/s^2.