In three scenarios a truck is towing a boat on a trailer. Using 3 – 4 complete sentences indicate which scenario(s) (if any) is the force of the truck on the trailer greater than the force of the trailer on the truck:

Question

In three scenarios a truck is towing a boat on a trailer. Using 3 – 4 complete sentences indicate which scenario(s) (if any) is the force of the truck on the trailer greater than the force of the trailer on the truck:

Scenario A: masstruck = 1000 kg, massboat and trailer = 500 kg; velocity = 20 m/s
Scenario B: masstruck = 800 kg, massboat and trailer = 800 kg; velocity = 20 m/s
Scenario C: masstruck = 500 kg, massboat and trailer = 1000 kg; velocity = 15 m/s

Answer 1

To determine if the force of the truck on the trailer is greater than the force of the trailer on the truck, we need to calculate the forces in each scenario using Newton's second law. The force can be calculated by multiplying the mass and the acceleration. Since the velocity is constant, the acceleration is zero, and therefore the force is zero in all three scenarios. Hence, in all scenarios, the force of the truck on the trailer is not greater than the force of the trailer on the truck.