A cyclist and her bicycle have a combined mass of 75.0kg. If the frictional force acting against the motion of the bicycle is -23.5N, what force must the cyclist apply to maintain a constant velocity?
What’s the answer
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To maintain a constant velocity, the cyclist must apply a force equal in magnitude and opposite in direction to the frictional force acting against the motion of the bicycle. In this case, the frictional force is -23.5N, which means it acts in the opposite direction to the motion.
Therefore, the force that the cyclist must apply to maintain a constant velocity is 23.5N in the forward direction.
To find the force the cyclist must apply to maintain a constant velocity, we need to consider Newton's second law of motion, which states that the net force acting on an object is equal to the product of its mass and acceleration.
In this case, since the cyclist is maintaining a constant velocity, we know that the acceleration is zero. Therefore, the net force on the cyclist and the bicycle is also zero. We can set up the equation as follows:
Net force = Force applied by cyclist - Frictional force
Since the net force is zero, we can rearrange the equation:
0 = Force applied by cyclist - Frictional force
Now, we can substitute the given values:
0 = Force applied by cyclist - (-23.5N)
Simplifying the equation:
0 = Force applied by cyclist + 23.5N
To solve for the force applied by the cyclist, we need to isolate it on one side of the equation. To do this, we can rearrange the equation:
Force applied by cyclist = -23.5N
Therefore, the force the cyclist must apply to maintain a constant velocity is 23.5N in the opposite direction of the frictional force.