A 1200kg car accelreates from 0mph-60mph in 8.5 seconds. Calculate the force needed to accelerate the vehicle.
To calculate the force needed to accelerate the vehicle, we can use Newton's second law of motion, which states that force (F) is equal to mass (m) multiplied by acceleration (a):
F = m * a
First, let's convert the car's mass from kilograms to pounds. Since 1 kg is approximately 2.20462 pounds, we can calculate:
mass in pounds = 1200 kg * 2.20462 lb/kg ≈ 2645.5 lb
Next, let's convert the acceleration from miles per hour (mph) to feet per second (ft/s). One mile is equal to 5280 feet, and one hour is equal to 3600 seconds. Therefore, the conversion can be done as follows:
acceleration in ft/s = (60 mph - 0 mph) * (5280 ft/mi) / (3600 s/hr) ≈ 88 ft/s
Now we have the necessary values to calculate the force:
F = 2645.5 lb * 88 ft/s ≈ 232,204 lb * ft/s
Note: The force calculated above is the force in pound-force (lbf). If you want the force in Newtons (N), which is the SI unit of force, you can convert it using the following conversion factor: 1 lbf ≈ 4.44822 N.
So, to convert the force from pound-force (lbf) to Newtons (N):
F in Newtons (N) = 232,204 lbf * 4.44822 N/lbf ≈ 1,032,749 N
Therefore, the force needed to accelerate the vehicle is approximately 1,032,749 Newtons (N).