A car of mass 900 kg pulls a caravan of mass 400 kg along a straight, horizontal road with an acceleration of 2.0 m/s² - Scottish Highers Physics - Question 5 - 2015
Question 5
A car of mass 900 kg pulls a caravan of mass 400 kg along a straight, horizontal road with an acceleration of 2.0 m/s².
Assuming that the frictional forces on the c... show full transcript
Worked Solution & Example Answer:A car of mass 900 kg pulls a caravan of mass 400 kg along a straight, horizontal road with an acceleration of 2.0 m/s² - Scottish Highers Physics - Question 5 - 2015
Step 1
Calculate the force required for the caravan
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Answer
To find the tension in the coupling, we first need to calculate the force required to accelerate the caravan. Using Newton's second law, we have:
F=mimesa
where:
F is the force,
m is the mass of the caravan (400 kg), and
a is the acceleration (2.0 m/s²).
Substituting the values:
F=400extkgimes2.0extm/s2=800extN
Step 2
Determine the tension in the coupling
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Answer
Since the tension in the coupling is the force exerted on the caravan to achieve the acceleration, we conclude that the tension in the coupling between the car and the caravan is:
800 N.
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