Calculate the average force per nail when Sarah (following figure), who weighs 130 pounds, lies on a bed of nails and is supported by 600 nails.
Express your answer using two significant figures.
To calculate the average force per nail, we need to know the total force applied by Sarah and the number of nails supporting her.
First, let's convert Sarah's weight from pounds to Newtons, as the unit of force in the metric system is Newton (N).
1 pound is approximately equal to 4.45 Newtons.
So, Sarah's weight in Newtons = 130 pounds * 4.45 N/pound.
Next, we can calculate the average force per nail by dividing the total force by the number of nails.
Average force per nail = Total force / Number of nails.
Let's plug in the values:
Total force = Sarah's weight in Newtons
Number of nails = 600
Hence, Average force per nail = (Sarah's weight in Newtons) / 600.
To express the answer using two significant figures, we'll round the final result to two decimal places.