Question

A 15 kg cart is pushed on a frictionless surface from rest horizontally by a 30 N force. What is the cart's acceleration?

b. How far wil it travel in 10 seconds?
c. What is its velocity at the end of 10 seconds?

Answer 1

a. The cart's acceleration is 2 m/s^2

b. The cart will travel 100 m

c. The speed is 20 m/s

Step-by-step explanation:

a. The acceleration of the cart can be calculated using Newton's second law:

F = m.a

Solving for a:

`\displaystyle a=(F)/(m)`

The cart has a mass of m=15 Kg and is applied a net force of F=30 N, thus:

`\displaystyle a=(30)/(15)`

`a=2\ m/s^2`

b.

Now we use kinematics to find the distance and speed:

`\displaystyle x = v_o.t+(at^2)/(2)`

The cart starts from rest (vo=0). The distance traveled in t=10 seconds is:

`\displaystyle x = 0*10+(2*10^2)/(2)`

`x = 100\ m`

The cart will travel 100 m

c.

The final speed is calculated by:

`v_f=0+2*10=20\ m/s`

The speed is 20 m/s