CHAPTER 4

NEWTONS LAWS OF MOTION

INTERNET ASSIGNED PROBLEMS
1 30
Isaac Newton (1642 1727)

NEWTONS LAWS: SECOND & THIRD

1. What force is needed to accelerate a child on a bike
(total mass = 60.0 kg) at 1.25 m/s2?

Hint: Use Newtons second law to calculate

force.

2. A net force of 265 N accelerates a bike and rider at 2.30 m/s2.

What is the mass of the bike and rider together?

Hint: Use Newtons second law to calculate

mass.

3. How much tension must a rope withstand if it is used to

accelerate a 960-kg car horizontally along a frictionless
surface at 1.20 m/s2?

Hint: Force and tension mean the same thing. Use

Newtons second law to calculate tension.

4. What average force is required to stop an 1100-kg car in 8.0 s

if the car is traveling at 95 km/h?

Hint: Convert km/h to m/s by dividing it by 3.6.

Use Newtons second law to find force.

5. What average force is needed to accelerate a 7.00-gram

projectile from rest to 125 m/s over a distance of 0.800 m
along the barrel of a rifle?

Hint: The average force on the pellet is its mass

times its average acceleration. Convert the
grams to kilograms.

6. A fisherman yanks a fish vertically out of the water with an

acceleration of 2.5 m/s2 using a fishing line that has a breaking
strength of 22 N. The fisherman loses the fish as
G
the line snaps.
FT
What was the minimum mass of the fish?

Hint: We assume that the fish line is pulling

vertically on the fish.

G
mg

7. A 0.140-kg baseball traveling 35.0 m/s strikes the catchers mitt,

which, in bringing the ball to rest, recoils backwards 11.0 cm.
what was the average force applied by the ball on the glove?

Hint: By Newtons 3rd law, the force exerted

by the ball on the glove is equal and
opposite to the force exerted by the
glove on the ball. So calculate the average
force on the ball, and then take the
opposite of that result to find the average
force on the glove.

8. A 12.0-kg bucket is lowered vertically by a rope in which there

is 163 N of tension at a given instant. What is the acceleration
of the bucket?

Hint: Solve using Newtons second law.

9. An elevator (mass 4850 kg) has a maximum acceleration of 0.68g. Hint: To find the maximum tension,
assume that the acceleration is up.
What is the maximum force the motor should exert on the cable?

10. A person stands on a bathroom scale in a motionless elevator.

When the elevator begins to move, the scale briefly reads only
0.75 of the persons weight.
Calculate the acceleration of the elevator.

G
mg

Hint: There will be two forces on the person

their weight, and the normal force of the
scales pushing up on the person.

G
FN

11. The cable supporting a 2125-kg elevator has a maximum strength Hint: Choose UP to be the positive direction.
Use Newtons second law to solve.
of 21,750 N. What maximum upward acceleration can it give
the elevator without breaking the cable?

G
FT

G
mg
12. On planet Alpha an astronaut picks up a rock which has a mass of Hint: Apply Newtons Second Law to find
5.00-kg and its weight on the planet is 40.0 N. If the astronaut
the acceleration of the rock.
exerts an upward force of 46.2 N on the rock, what is its
acceleration?
G
F

13. If a 10.3-kg cart at rest is pushed with a force of 12.1 N.

How far does it travel in 2.50 s?

Hint: Use Newtons Second Law to find the

acceleration of the cart, then use the
acceleration to find the distance.

14. A 92-kg water skier floating on a lake is pulled from rest to a

speed of 12 m/s in a distance of 25 m. What is the net force
exerted on the skier?

Hint: Determine the acceleration of the skier, then

use Newtons Second Law to find
find the force exerted on the skier.

NEWTONS LAWS: VECTORS FRICTION & INCLINED PLANES

15. A tractor tows a 3900-kg trailer up a 16o inclined with a speed
of 3.0 m/s.

G
F

Hint: Because the trailer is moving at constant

speed, the net force on the trailer must
be zero, and the force exerted by the
tractor on the trailer must equal the
component of the trailers weight that is
pointing down the incline and parallel to it.

G
mg
mg sin

What force does the tractor exert on the trailer?

16. Two crewman pull a raft past a dock, as shown. One crewman
pulls with a force of 30.0 N at an angle of 34o relative to the
forward direction of the raft. The second crewman, pulls with
force of 40.0 N at an angle of 45o.

Hint: Use the vector sum of the forces to find

the resultant force.

What is the sum of the forces exerted by both crewmen?

17. A person pushes a 14.0-kg lawn mower at constant speed

with a force of 88.0 N directed along the handle, which is
at an angle of 45o to the horizontal as shown.

Hint: The forces must sum to 0 since

the mower is not accelerating.

Calculate the horizontal friction force.

18. Based upon the information in problem 17 calculate the

normal force exerted vertically upward on the mower by the
ground.

Hint: The forces must sum to 0 since the

mower is not accelerating in the
vertical direction.

19. What force must the person in problem 17 exert on the lawn
mower to accelerate it from rest to 1.5 m/s in 2.5 seconds,
assuming the same friction force?

Hint: This requires two equations to solve.

20. If the coefficient of kinetic friction between a 35-kg crate and

the floor is 0.30, what horizontal force is required to move the
crate at a steady speed across the floor?

Hint: The crate does not accelerate vertically,

and the crate does not accelerate
horizontally.

G
FN G
FP

G
Ffr

G
mg
21. A force of 48.0 N is required to start a 5.0-kg box moving across Hint: To start the box moving, the pulling
force must just overcome the force
a horizontal concrete floor. What is the coefficient of static friction
between the box and the floor?
of static friction.

22. If you are standing on a train that is accelerating at 0.20g, what

minimum coefficient of static friction must exist between your
feet and the floor if you are not to slide?

Hint: The maximum static frictional force is

s FN and that must be greater than or
equal to the force needed to accelerate
you.

G
Ffr
G
mg

G
FN

23. What is the maximum acceleration a car can undergo if the

coefficient of static friction between the tires and the ground
is 0.80?

G
FN

Hint: The car does not accelerate vertically.

The static frictional force is the accelerating
force, and so Ffr = ma .

G
Ffr

G
mg

24. A baseball player slides into third base with an initial speed
of 4.0 m/s. If the coefficient of kinetic friction between the
player and the ground is 0.46, how far does the player slide
before coming to rest?

Hint: Find the acceleration of the player and

insert into the distance equation.

25. A child goes down a playground slide with an acceleration of.

1.16 m/s2. Find the coefficient of kinetic friction between the
child and the slide if the slide is inclined at an angle of 31.0o
below the horizontal.

Hint: Choose the x-axis along the direction of

motion. Write Newtons Second Law in
the y direction to find the normal force,
and then write Newtons Second Law
in the x direction and solve for k.

26. You floor your Honda Civic and accelerate at 12 m/s2 without
spinning the tires. Determine the minimum coefficient of static
friction between the tires and the road needed to make this
possible.

Hint: The static friction between the tires and

the road provides the forward force on the
ford needed to accelerate it at 12 m/s2.

27. A block is launched up a frictionless incline, as shown below,

with an initial speed of 5.5 m/s. What is the maximum
displacement, d, of the block up the incline.

Hint: The process of analyzing the forces acting

upon objects on inclined planes will involve
resolving the weight vector into two
perpendicular forces.

28. The block shown below remains at rest. What is the friction
force acting on the block?

Hint: Use Newtons Second Law then calculate

using the angle.

29. What is the normal force acting on the block shown below?

Hint: Use Newtons second law then solve

using the contact force.

30. A block slides down a frictionless, inclined plane that makes a

30o angle with the horizontal. Find the acceleration of this block.

Hint: Solve for the acceleration by using

Newtons second law.

FORMULAS USED IN THIS WORKSHEET

Note: The following are general formulas, are not in any order, and have not necessarily been modified to fit each
individual problem. Distance d can be expressed as x when horizontal or y when vertical.

v 2 = v02 + 2a ( x x0 )

v = d t

v = v0 + at

F = ma

FT = m ( g + a )

v 2 v0 2
F = ma = m

2x

s =

D=

FP
mg

vo2
2 g sin

s a g

a=

m=

FT
g+a

F = mg sin
a = k g

F mg sin
=
= g sin
m
m

y = y0 + v0 t + 12 at 2

a=

FT mg
m

FT = ma + mg = m ( a + g )

FP = Ffr = k FN = k mg

k =

g sin a
g cos

NAME: _______________________________

DATE: ___/___/___ PERIOD: _______

Honors Physics - Internet Assigned Problems

Answer Sheet
All worksheet answers must be submitted on this form and turned in on the due date.
Your actual calculations must be stapled to the back of this form.
Chapter: _______ Problems: ______________________________________
#

FORMULA

ANSWER

UNIT

1.

16.

2.

17.

3.

18.

4.

19.

5.

20

6.

21.

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22.

8.

23.

9.

24.

10.

25.

11.

26.

12.

27.

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28.

14.

29.

15.

30.

FORMULA

ANSWER

UNIT