Question

A wooden block of mass 87.6g is placed on a horizontal lab table. Another mass of 85g is placed on top of the wooden block. Both of these are pushed horizontally with a force sensor and the frictional force is determined. If the coefficient of kinetic friction is 0.24, determine the frictional force in newton (N) acting on the wooden block?Express the numeral of your answer with 2 significant figures.

Answer 1

To determine the frictional force acting on the wooden block, we can use the equation:

Frictional force = coefficient of kinetic friction * normal force

The normal force is the force exerted by the table on the wooden block, which is equal to the weight of the block. The weight is given by:

Weight = mass * gravitational acceleration

First, let's calculate the weight of the wooden block:

Weight = 87.6g * 9.8 m/s^2 (converting grams to kilograms)
Weight ≈ 0.86 N

Now, we can calculate the frictional force:

Frictional force = 0.24 * 0.86 N (using the given coefficient of kinetic friction)
Frictional force ≈ 0.21 N

Therefore, the frictional force acting on the wooden block is approximately 0.21 N.