A brave but inadequate rugby player is being pushed backward by an opposing player who was exerting a force of 800 Newtons on him. The mass of the losing player plus the equipment is 90 kilograms and he is accelerating at 1.2 meters per second backward. How would I sketch the scenario and draw a free body diagram of both players. What is the force of friction between the losing player’s feet and the grass? What force does the winning player exert on the ground to move forward if his Mass plus equipment he is 110 kilograms ?
To sketch the scenario and draw a free body diagram, follow these steps:
1. Draw a rough sketch of the rugby players in their starting positions, indicating their direction of motion.
2. Draw arrows to represent the forces acting on each player, keeping in mind the direction and magnitude of these forces.
For the losing player:
- Draw an arrow pointing towards the left to represent the force exerted on him by the opposing player (800N).
- Draw an arrow pointing towards the right to represent the force of friction acting on him.
For the winning player:
- Draw an arrow pointing towards the left to represent the force exerted by him on the losing player.
- Draw an arrow pointing towards the right to represent the force of friction acting on him.
Now, let's calculate the force of friction between the losing player's feet and the grass.
Using Newton's second law of motion, we know that force (F) is equal to mass (m) multiplied by acceleration (a). Rearranging the formula, we have F = m * a.
For the losing player:
- Mass (m) = 90 kg
- Acceleration (a) = -1.2 m/s² (negative value because he is accelerating backwards)
F = 90 kg * (-1.2 m/s²)
F = -108 N (negative sign indicates the direction is opposite to the force exerted by the opposing player)
Therefore, the force of friction between the losing player's feet and the grass is 108 Newtons.
Now, let's determine the force the winning player exerts on the ground to move forward.
Using Newton's third law of motion, we know that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. Therefore, the force exerted on the ground by the winning player is equal in magnitude but opposite in direction to the force the ground exerts on the winning player.
Since the mass of the winning player plus the equipment is given as 110 kilograms, we can calculate the force using the same formula as before.
For the winning player:
- Mass (m) = 110 kg
- Acceleration (a) = 1.2 m/s² (positive value because he is accelerating forward)
F = 110 kg * 1.2 m/s²
F = 132 N
Therefore, the force the winning player exerts on the ground to move forward is 132 Newtons.