Mechanics: Newton's Laws of Motion
Newton's Laws of Motion: Audio Guided Solution
Extra Problem 9:
Unbeknownst to most students, every time the school floors are waxed, the physics teachers get together to have a barrel of phun doing friction experiments in their socks (uhm - they have clothes on, its just that they don't have any shoes on their feet). On one occasion, Mr. Lewis applied a horizontal force to accelerate Mr. Smith (mass of 74.8 kg) rightward at a rate of 1.04 m/s/s. If the coefficient of friction between Mr. Smith's socks and the freshly waxed floors is 0.502, then with what force (in Newtons) must Mr. Lewis be pushing?
Audio Guided Solution
Habits of an Effective Problem Solver
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Read the problem carefully and develop a mental picture of the physical situation. If necessary, sketch a simple diagram of the physical situation to help you visualize it.
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Identify the known and unknown quantities in an organized manner. Equate given values to the symbols used to represent the corresponding quantity - e.g., m = 3.52 kg; a = 4.2 m/s/s; Fnet = ???.
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Use physics formulas and conceptual reasoning to plot a strategy for solving for the unknown quantity.
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Identify the appropriate formula(s) to use.
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Perform substitutions and algebraic manipulations in order to solve for the unknown quantity.
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