Physics
Physics
Problem
A toy car of mass 600 g is pulled along a straight corridor by several children exerting horizontal forces. a. (i) At a certain instant the forces acting on the car are: 2.5 N forward, 1.5 N backward, and 0.8 N forward. Determine the net force acting on the car, specifying its direction. b. (ii) Calculate the acceleration of the car produced by the net force. c. (iii) The children maintain the same set of forces for 4 s. If the car was initially at rest, find its speed at the end of 4 s.Intuitive explanation
The key here is vector addition of forces — you're combining multiple forces acting in different directions to find the net effect on the car. Think of each child's pull as an arrow; the car only "feels" the combined result of all those arrows added together. Once you have the net force, Newton's second law () tells you how the car accelerates, so the direction and magnitude of the total pull is what actually matters for the car's motion.
Intuitive explanation
The key here is vector addition of forces — you're combining multiple forces acting in different directions to find the net effect on the car. Think of each child's pull as an arrow; the car only "feels" the combined result of all those arrows added together. Once you have the net force, Newton's second law () tells you how the car accelerates, so the direction and magnitude of the total pull is what actually matters for the car's motion.