A gust of wind blows an apple from a tree.
As the apple falls, the force of gravity on the
apple is 9.20 N downward, and the force of
the wind on the apple is 1.74 N to the right.
What is the magnitude of the net external
force on the apple?
Answer in units of N.
the forces are perpendicular and add by the Pythagorean theorem
(net)^2 = (down)^2 + (right)^2
So 9.20^2 + 1.74^2= 87.6676
so square root of 87.6676 which is 9.36?
To find the magnitude of the net external force on the apple, we need to combine the forces of gravity and wind. Since the forces are acting in different directions, we need to use vector addition.
The force of gravity on the apple is 9.20 N downward, and the force of the wind is 1.74 N to the right.
To find the net force, we need to calculate the vector sum of these forces. Since they are perpendicular to each other, we can use the Pythagorean theorem to find the magnitude of the net force.
Magnitude of the net force = sqrt((force of gravity)^2 + (force of wind)^2)
= sqrt((9.20 N)^2 + (1.74 N)^2)
= sqrt(84.64 N^2 + 3.0276 N^2)
= sqrt(87.6676 N^2)
≈ 9.37 N
Therefore, the magnitude of the net external force on the apple is approximately 9.37 N.
To find the magnitude of the net external force on the apple, we need to combine the forces acting on it. In this case, we have the force of gravity acting downward with a magnitude of 9.20 N, and the force of the wind acting to the right with a magnitude of 1.74 N.
To combine these forces, we can use vector addition. Since the force of gravity is acting downward and the force of the wind is acting to the right, we can draw these forces on a coordinate system. The force of gravity will point downward, while the force of the wind will point to the right.
Now, we can use the Pythagorean theorem to find the magnitude of the net external force on the apple. The Pythagorean theorem states that the square of the hypotenuse of a right triangle is equal to the sum of the squares of the other two sides.
In this case, the magnitudes of the forces of gravity and wind represent the lengths of the two sides of a right triangle, where the net external force represents the hypotenuse.
So, we can calculate the magnitude of the net external force as follows:
Net External Force = √(Force of Gravity² + Force of Wind²)
= √(9.20² + 1.74²)
= √(84.64 + 3.0276)
= √87.6676
≈ 9.37 N
Therefore, the magnitude of the net external force on the apple is approximately 9.37 N.