Calculating Net Force on a Car

04 Dec 2023

What is the net force acting on a 925 kg car accelerating from rest to a velocity of 25.0 m/s in 10.0 seconds?

Given: Mass = 925 kg, Initial velocity = 0 m/s, Final velocity = 25.0 m/s, Time taken = 10.0 seconds

The net force acting on the car during this acceleration is 2312.5 Newtons to the south.

Hi there!

We can begin by calculating the acceleration experienced by the car.

Using the equation vf = vi + at, where the initial velocity is 0 (at rest):

Final velocity (vf) = 25.0 m/s

Acceleration (a) = (vf - vi) / t = (25 - 0) / 10 = 2.5 m/s²

Now, we can calculate the net force using Newton's Second Law, ∑F = ma, where:

Mass (m) = 925 kg

Acceleration (a) = 2.5 m/s²

∑F = 925 kg * 2.5 m/s² = 2312.5 N