An elevator cab and its load have a combined mass of 1600 kg.

Find the
tension in the supporting cable when the cab, originally moving downward at
12 m/s, is brought to rest with constant acceleration in a distance of 42 m.
𝑦
Answer: 𝑥
We have from Newton’s second law,

𝑦 = −42 𝑚
𝒗𝟎
𝑇 − 𝑚𝑔 = 𝑚𝑎
𝑻
𝑇 = 𝑚𝑎 + 𝑚𝑔 = 𝑚 𝑎 + 𝑔 = 1600(𝑎 + 9.8)
𝒎 𝒗
To find 𝑎, we use the following formula,
𝑣 2 = 𝑣02 + 2𝑎𝑦 𝑭𝒈

0 = (−12)2 +2𝑎(−42) Therefore,

Here, 𝑣0 = −12 𝑚/𝑠
0 = 144 − 84𝑎 𝑇 = 1600(1.714 + 9.8) 𝑣 = 0 𝑚/𝑠

84𝑎 = 144 𝑚 = 1600 𝑘𝑔

𝑇 = 1600(1.714 + 9.8)
𝑦 = −42 𝑚
𝒂 = 𝟏. 𝟕𝟏𝟒 𝒎/𝒔𝟐
𝑇 =?
𝑻 = 𝟏𝟖, 𝟒𝟐𝟐 𝑵
A 40 kg girl and an 8.4 kg sled are on the frictionless ice of a frozen lake, 15
m apart but connected by a rope of negligible mass. The girl exerts a
horizontal 5.2 N force on the rope. What are the acceleration magnitudes of
(a) the sled and (b) the girl? (c) How far from the girl's initial position do they
meet?
Answer:
Since the rope is of negligible mass,
the pulls at both ends of the rope have
the same magnitude T.
(a) For girl (b) For sled
From Newton’s second law, From Newton’s second law,
𝑻 = 𝒎𝒈 𝒂𝒈
𝑻 = 𝒎𝒔 𝒂𝒔
[where, 𝑚𝑔 → 𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑔𝑖𝑟𝑙
𝑎𝑔 → 𝑎𝑐𝑐𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑔𝑖𝑟𝑙 [where, 𝑚𝑠 → 𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 sled
and 𝑇 → 𝑚𝑎𝑔𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑢𝑑𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑐𝑒 𝑎𝑠 → 𝑎𝑐𝑐𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 sled]
𝑎𝑙𝑜𝑛𝑔 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑟𝑜𝑝𝑒]

𝑇 5.2 𝑇 5.2
𝑎𝑔 = = = 0.13 𝑚/𝑠 2 𝑎𝑠 = = = 0. 619 𝑚/𝑠 2
𝑚𝑔 40 𝑚𝑠 8.4
(c) We assume that they will meet at point C after a time t.
For girl,
1
𝑥𝑔 = 0 + 𝑎𝑔𝑡 2 [since initial velocity of
2 girl is zero] 𝐶 𝑥
1 0
𝑥𝑔 = 𝑎𝑔𝑡 2
2 𝑥𝑔 𝑥𝑠 = 15 − 𝑥𝑔
For sled,
15 𝑚
1
−(15 − 𝑥𝑔) = − 𝑎𝑠 𝑡 2 [since the displacement and acceleration are negative to x axis]
2
1 1
15 − 𝑎𝑔𝑡 = 𝑎𝑠 𝑡 2
2
2 2
0.13 2 0.619 2 Therefore,
15 − 𝑡 = 𝑡
2 2
2 2
𝟎. 𝟏𝟑 𝟐
15 − 0.065𝑡 = 0.3095𝑡 𝒙𝒈 = 𝟔. 𝟑𝟐𝟗 = 𝟐. 𝟔𝟎𝟒 𝒎
𝟐
0.3745𝑡 2 = 15
𝒕 = 𝟔. 𝟑𝟐𝟗 𝒔
No applied force, box
at rest.
No friction, 𝑓𝑠 =0

Box sliding at approximately

Weak applied force but constant speed: 𝑓𝑘 = 𝜇𝑘 𝐹𝑁
is balanced by 𝑓𝑠 , box
remains at rest.
𝐹𝑝𝑠 = 𝑓𝑠

Stronger applied force,

box just about to slide.
𝑓𝑠,𝑚𝑎𝑥 = 𝜇𝑠 𝐹𝑁
t
Friction: When a force tends to slide a body along a surface, a frictional
force from the surface acts on the body. The frictional force is parallel to the
surface (𝑭𝒑𝒔 ) and directed so as to oppose the sliding. It is due to bonding
between the body and the surface.
If the body does not slide, the frictional force is a static frictional force (𝒇𝒔 ).
If there is sliding, the frictional force is a kinetic fiictional force (𝒇𝒌).

Properties of Friction:
 If a body does not move, the static frictional force (𝑓𝑠 ) and the applied force
parallel to the surface (𝐹𝑝𝑠 ) are equal in magnitude, and 𝑓𝑠 is directed
opposite to that 𝐹𝑝𝑠 . If the 𝐹𝑝𝑠 increases, 𝑓𝑠 also increases.

 The magnitude of 𝑓𝑠 has a maximum value 𝑓𝑠,𝑚𝑎𝑥 that is given by

𝑓𝑠,𝑚𝑎𝑥 = 𝜇𝑠 𝐹𝑁
where 𝜇𝑠 is the coefficient of static friction and 𝐹𝑁 is the magnitude of
the normal force on the body from the surface. If the magnitude of the 𝐹𝑝𝑠
exceeds 𝑓𝑠,𝑚𝑎𝑥, then the body begins to slide along the surface.
 If the body begins to slide along the surface, the magnitude of the frictional force
rapidly decreases to a value 𝑓𝑘 given by
𝒇𝒌 = 𝝁𝒌 𝑭𝑵
where 𝜇𝑘 is the coefficient of kinetic friction. Thereafter, during the sliding, a kinetic
frictional force with magnitude 𝑓𝑘 opposes the motion.

Coefficients of friction
The ratio of the magnitude of the maximum forces of static friction to the magnitude of
the normal force is called the coefficient of static friction for the surfaces involved. If 𝑓𝑠
is the magnitude of the static friction, we can write,

𝒇𝒔 ≤ 𝝁𝒔 𝑭𝑵

where 𝜇𝑠 is the coefficient of static friction and 𝐹𝑁 is the magnitude of the normal
force on the body from the surface.
The coeeficient of kinetic friction is defined as,

𝒇𝒌
𝝁𝒌 =
𝑭𝑵

Both 𝜇𝑠 and 𝜇𝑘 are dimensionless constant. Usually for a given pair of surfaces 𝜇𝑠 >
𝜇𝑘 .
The floor of a railroad flatcar is loaded with loose crates having a coefficient of
static friction of 0.25 with the floor. If the train is initially moving at a speed of 48
km/h, in how short a distance can the train be stopped at constant acceleration
without causing the crates to slide over the floor?

Answer:
Since the crates are not sliding, the net
force on the crates along horizontal
axis (x-axis) is zero. That is

𝐹𝑝𝑠 + (−𝑓𝑠,𝑚𝑎𝑥 ) = 0 [Assuming the crates facing

maximum static friction
because they are not sliding]
𝐹𝑝𝑠 = 𝑓𝑠,𝑚𝑎𝑥
𝑚𝑎 = 𝜇𝑠 𝐹𝑁 = 𝜇𝑠𝑚𝑔 [Since, along vertical axis (y-axis), 𝐹𝑁 − 𝑚𝑔 = 0
𝑎 = 𝜇𝑠 𝑔 = 0.25 9.8 = 2.45 𝑚/𝑠 2
0 = 13.33 2 + 2 −2.45 𝑠
To find the value of s for the train, we
use the formula 177.69
𝑣 2 = 𝑣02 + 2(−𝑎)𝑠
[𝑎 is negative for 𝑠= = 36.26 𝑚
the train ] 4.9
A person pushes horizontally with a force of 220 N on a 55 kg crate to move
it across a level floor. The coefficient of kinetic friction between the crate and
the floor is 0.35. What is the magnitude of (a) the frictional force and (b) the
acceleration of the crate?

Answer:

(a) For the kinetic frictional force, we have

[Along y-axis, 𝐹𝑁 − 𝑚𝑔 = 0
𝑓𝑘 = 𝜇𝑘 𝐹𝑁 = 𝜇𝑘 (𝑚𝑔) Therefore, 𝐹𝑁 = 𝑚𝑔]

𝑓𝑘 = 0.35 55 9.8 = 188.65 𝑁

(b) The net force along x-axis, [where 𝑎 is the acceleration of the crate along x-axis]

𝐹𝑝𝑠 − 𝑓𝑘 = 𝑚𝑎
220 − 188.65 = 55 𝑎 Therefore,
31.35
31.35 = 55 𝑎 𝑎= = 0.57 𝑚/𝑠 2
55