Work done by a father pushing a sled up a hill

In summary, the father exerts a horizontal force on his daughter's sled to move it up a snowy incline with a constant acceleration of 0.25m/s2. The total mass of the sled and girl is 35kg and the coefficient of kinetic friction between the sled runners and snow is 0.25. To get the sled from the bottom to the top of the hill, the father does work of 2700 J, taking into account the effects of the horizontal force on the normal force and solving for the correct value of F.
  • #1
endeavor
176
0
A father pushes horizontally on his daughter's sled to move it up a snowy incline, as illustrated in Fg. 5.23b. If the sled goes up the hill with a constant acceleration of 0.25m/s2, how much work is done by the father in getting it from the bottom to the top of the hill? (The total mass of the sled and the girl is 35kg and the coefficient of kinetic friction between the sled runners and the snow is 0.25)

the slope must be 3.6/sin 15º.
the Normal Force is N=mg cos 15º = 331.31N
Therefore the kinetic friction is fk=uk = 82.83N

Now here's the part I think I'm doing wrong, because I get the wrong answer:
Fnet=ma = 8.75N
Fnet=F cos 15º - fk - mg sin 15º

solving for F, I get F=186.7N

to find the amount of work done by the father, I use F cos 15º (because it is the force in the same direction as the displacement).

W = F cos 15º * 3.6/sin 15º = 2508 J

However, the answer is 2700 J. What have I done wrong?
 

Attachments

  • fig523b.bmp
    58.2 KB · Views: 653
Physics news on Phys.org
  • #2
endeavor said:
the Normal Force is N=mg cos 15º = 331.31N
Therefore the kinetic friction is fk=uk = 82.83N
Realize that the father's horizontal force affects the normal force; the normal force is not simply [itex]mg \cos \theta[/itex].
 
  • #3
Doc Al said:
Realize that the father's horizontal force affects the normal force; the normal force is not simply [itex]mg \cos \theta[/itex].
thanks, i got the right answer now
 

Related to Work done by a father pushing a sled up a hill

1. What is work done?

Work done is a measure of the energy transferred when a force is applied to an object and causes it to move a certain distance in the direction of the force.

2. How is work done calculated?

The work done by a force is calculated by multiplying the magnitude of the force by the distance the object moves in the direction of the force, W = Fd.

3. What factors affect the amount of work done by a father pushing a sled up a hill?

The amount of work done by a father pushing a sled up a hill is affected by the magnitude of the force he applies, the distance he pushes the sled, and the angle of the slope of the hill.

4. Is the work done by the father pushing the sled up the hill positive or negative?

The work done by the father pushing the sled up the hill is positive, as he is applying a force in the same direction as the displacement of the sled.

5. How does the work done by the father pushing the sled up the hill relate to the sled's change in potential energy?

The work done by the father pushing the sled up the hill is equal to the change in potential energy of the sled. This is because the work done transfers energy to the sled, increasing its potential energy as it moves up the hill.

Similar threads

  • Introductory Physics Homework Help
Replies
3
Views
1K
  • Introductory Physics Homework Help
Replies
8
Views
7K
  • Introductory Physics Homework Help
Replies
4
Views
2K
Replies
1
Views
1K
  • Introductory Physics Homework Help
Replies
1
Views
3K
  • Introductory Physics Homework Help
Replies
31
Views
3K
  • Introductory Physics Homework Help
Replies
4
Views
4K
  • Introductory Physics Homework Help
Replies
2
Views
2K
  • Introductory Physics Homework Help
Replies
2
Views
12K
  • Introductory Physics Homework Help
Replies
4
Views
2K
Back
Top