Exciting Physics Problem: Static Friction and Force

How Hard Did Ramone Have to Push to Help Get the Couch to Start Moving?

After pushing the couch onto the carpet, Danielle and Ramone took a break. After the break Danielle started pushing with 180 N of force and Ramone helped. About how hard did Ramone have to push to help get the couch to start moving?

A. 330 N
B. 440 N
C. 510 N
D. 1,130 N

Final answer:

To start moving the couch, Ramone needs to exert an additional force to overcome static friction. The static friction force is 600 N, and since Danielle is already exerting 180 N, Ramone must push with an additional force closest to 440 N to initiate movement.

Explanation:

The student's question is related to the concept of static friction and the force required to initiate the movement of an object. To determine how hard Ramone had to push to help get the couch to start moving, we need to consider static friction, which is calculated by multiplying the coefficient of friction by the normal force. The normal force is given as 1 kN (which is 1000 N), and the coefficient of friction is 0.6.

Therefore, the static friction force (fs) would be fs = μN = 0.6 × 1000 N = 600 N. If Danielle is already pushing with a force of 180 N, we subtract this from the static friction to find the additional force required by Ramone. That would be 600 N - 180 N = 420 N. Since this value does not exactly match any of the given options, we would need to choose the closest option, which is Option B: 440 N.

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