Nikolas had an idea that he could use the compressed carbon dioxide in a fire extinguisher to propel him on his skateboard.
Nikolas, the fire extinguisher, and the skateboard have a combined mass of 50 kg. What force would the fire extinguisher have to produce to propel Nikolas if he wanted to accelerate at a rate of 1.2 m/s2? Round your answer to the nearest whole newton.
N
To calculate the force needed to propel Nikolas at an acceleration of 1.2 m/s^2, we can use Newton's second law of motion:
F = m * a
Where:
F = force (in newton)
m = mass (in kg)
a = acceleration (in m/s^2)
Given:
m = 50 kg
a = 1.2 m/s^2
Plugging in the values:
F = 50 kg * 1.2 m/s^2
F = 60 N
Therefore, the fire extinguisher would have to produce a force of 60 newtons to propel Nikolas at an acceleration of 1.2 m/s^2.