Does this question even make sense: A 7900 kg helicopter carrying a 1100 kg load is accelerating upwards at 1.2 m/sec squared. What is the force of air resistance pushing down on the helicopter?
not unless you know something about the force pushing upward.
net force F = ma
Forceup - forcedown = (7900+1100)(1.2)
Yes, this question does make sense. It is asking for the force of air resistance pushing down on a helicopter that is accelerating upwards. To calculate this, we need to consider the net force acting on the helicopter and apply Newton's second law of motion.
Newton's second law states that the net force (F_net) acting on an object is equal to the mass (m) of the object multiplied by its acceleration (a): F_net = m * a.
In this case, we have the mass of the helicopter (m_helicopter) and the load (m_load) given. The total mass of the system (m_total) is the sum of the helicopter's mass and the load's mass: m_total = m_helicopter + m_load.
The total force acting on the system is the force of gravity and the air resistance. Since the helicopter is accelerating upwards, the force of gravity is acting downwards with a magnitude of F_gravity = m_total * g, where g is the acceleration due to gravity (approximately 9.8 m/s^2).
The air resistance force (F_air) is opposing the motion of the helicopter and is equal in magnitude but opposite in direction to the net force acting on it. Therefore, F_air = -F_net.
To find F_air, we need to calculate F_net. F_net is the difference between the force of gravity and the force needed to accelerate the helicopter upwards: F_net = F_gravity - F_upwards.
The force needed to accelerate the system upwards is calculated as F_upwards = m_total * a.
Finally, we can determine F_air using the equation F_air = -F_net.
By plugging in the known values and calculating the forces, we can find the force of air resistance pushing down on the helicopter.