You place a box weighing 251.6 N on an in- clined plane that makes a 38.4◦ angle with the horizontal.
Compute the component of the gravita- tional force acting down the inclined plane.
Answer in units of N.
251.6 sin38.4 = 156.3 N
The component normal to the plane is
251.6 cos38.4
To compute the component of the gravitational force acting down the inclined plane, we need to find the force of gravity acting on the box and then calculate its component along the inclined plane.
The force of gravity acting on an object can be found using the formula: F = m * g, where F is the force of gravity, m is the mass of the object, and g is the acceleration due to gravity. However, in this case, we are given the weight of the box, which is a force, not the mass.
The weight (force) of the box is given as 251.6 N. Since weight is the force of gravity acting on an object, we can directly use this value.
Next, we need to find the component of the gravitational force acting down the inclined plane. This force can be decomposed into two components: one perpendicular to the plane (normal force) and one parallel to the plane (component force).
The component of the gravitational force acting down the inclined plane is given by the formula: F_parallel = F * sin(angle), where F is the weight (force) of the box and angle is the angle of the incline with the horizontal.
Substituting the given values into the formula, we have:
F_parallel = 251.6 N * sin(38.4◦)
Calculating this expression will give us the component of the gravitational force acting down the inclined plane.