a boy pushes with a force of 15 lbs. on a lawnmower handle which makes an angle 37 degree with the level ground. What is the horinzontal component of this force?

F(x) = F•cosα

To find the horizontal component of the force, we need to use trigonometry. The horizontal component is the part of the force that acts parallel to the ground.

The force of 15 lbs. is acting at an angle of 37 degrees with the level ground. We can use the cosine function to find the horizontal component.

Cosine is defined as the adjacent side divided by the hypotenuse in a right triangle. In this case, the adjacent side is the horizontal component of the force, and the hypotenuse is the total force of 15 lbs.

So, we can calculate the horizontal component using the following formula:

Horizontal component = Total force * Cosine(angle)

In this case, the total force is 15 lbs, and the angle is 37 degrees. Plugging in the values, we have:

Horizontal component = 15 lbs * Cos(37°)

Using a scientific calculator, we can find the cosine of 37 degrees is approximately 0.7986.

Therefore, the horizontal component of the force is:

Horizontal component = 15 lbs * 0.7986
Horizontal component ≈ 11.98 lbs (rounded to two decimal places)

So, the horizontal component of the force applied by the boy is approximately 11.98 lbs.