A 1200 kg boat accelerates steadily at 0.05 m/s^2 in a straight line . Are the forces on this boat balanced or unbalanced?
Thank you for helping me ! It takes me a little bit longer to grasp concepts, i think now the correct answer is it is unbalanced because it accelerates?
What do you think? Honestly, these are not hard questions.
I have no clue we never covered it in class!
Is the net forces balanced because it accelerates steadily in a straight line?.
Melissa,
This is something you just plain have to know.
If there is not net force, the momentum does NOT change.
That is Newton's First Law
If there IS a net force, in other words the forces are not balanced, then there is a rate of change of momentum, an ACCELERATION, A, times the mass m . F net = m A
That is Newton's Second Law
If you do not get it, please reply. You just plain have to know it.
Yes, if balanced it would move along at constant velocity and would not accelerate.
To determine if the forces on the boat are balanced or unbalanced, we need to examine the net force acting on the boat.
First, let's recall Newton's second law of motion, which states that the net force acting on an object is equal to the mass of the object multiplied by its acceleration (F = ma).
In this case, the mass of the boat is given as 1200 kg, and the acceleration is 0.05 m/s^2.
Calculating the net force using the formula F = ma:
F = 1200 kg * 0.05 m/s^2
F = 60 N
Since there is a net force acting on the boat (greater than zero), we can conclude that the forces on the boat are unbalanced.