You are holding a bulletin board weighing 6.46 N in place against a wall while your friend secures it to the wall. To keep it from slipping, you apply a force perpendicular to the bulletin board, pressing it directly into the wall. How large must this force be if the coefficient of static friction with the wall is 0.43?
To determine the force required to keep the bulletin board from slipping, we need to consider the equation for static friction:
fs = μs * N
Where:
- fs is the force of static friction
- μs is the coefficient of static friction
- N is the normal force
In this scenario, the normal force is equal to the weight of the bulletin board because it is being held perpendicular to the wall. The weight of the bulletin board, given as 6.46 N, is equal to the force of gravity acting on it.
Therefore, the normal force, N, is 6.46 N.
Now, we can substitute the values into the formula:
fs = 0.43 * 6.46 N
After performing the calculation, we find that:
fs ≈ 2.778 N
So, the force required to keep the bulletin board from slipping is approximately 2.778 N.