A wooden cart with frictionless wheels on level ground is given a push of 45.0 N. What must be the mass of the cart if it accelerates at 0.500 m/s/s? I know I need to use F=MA, but I was wondering if 45.0 N is the net force. If it's not, how would I find the net force?
Yes, 45.0 N is the net force since they have said the situation is frictionless. Use F = M A
To find the net force acting on the cart, we can first consider the forces involved. In this case, the only force acting on the cart is the applied force of 45.0 N.
Since there is no mention of any opposing forces like friction, we can assume that the net force acting on the cart is equal to the applied force. Therefore, the net force is 45.0 N.
Next, we can use the equation F = ma, where F is the net force, m is the mass of the cart, and a is the acceleration.
Substituting the values into the equation, we have:
45.0 N = m * 0.500 m/s^2
To solve for the mass (m), we need to rearrange the equation:
m = 45.0 N / 0.500 m/s^2
m ≈ 90 kg
Therefore, the mass of the cart must be approximately 90 kg for it to accelerate at 0.500 m/s^2 when given a push of 45.0 N.