An unknown force pushes a 17 kilogram block across a smooth frictionless floor. Three seconds after the force is first applied to the block , the block is moving with a speed of 6 meters per second. What is the magnitude of the the unknown force in Newtons?
find acceleration: 6/3 m/s^2
F=ma find force.
11 newtons
To find the magnitude of the unknown force, we can use Newton's second law of motion, which states that the force acting on an object is equal to the mass of the object multiplied by its acceleration. In this case, we are given the final speed of the block.
First, we need to find the acceleration of the block. We can use the formula:
v = u + at
Where:
v = final velocity (6 m/s)
u = initial velocity (0 m/s, since the block starts from rest)
a = acceleration
t = time (3 seconds)
Rearranging the formula to solve for acceleration:
a = (v - u) / t
a = (6 m/s - 0 m/s) / 3 s
a = 2 m/s²
Now that we have the acceleration, we can use Newton's second law to find the force:
F = m * a
Where:
F = force
m = mass (17 kg)
a = acceleration (2 m/s²)
F = 17 kg * 2 m/s²
F = 34 N
Therefore, the magnitude of the unknown force is 34 Newtons.