10/4/2017 MasteringPhysics: Assignment 3 - Forces Part One

BlockonanIncline

Ablockliesonaplaneraisedananglefromthehorizontal.Threeforcesactupontheblock:F w ,theforceofgravityF n ,the
normalforceandF f ,theforceoffriction.Thecoefficientoffrictionislargeenoughtopreventtheblockfromsliding.

PartA
Considercoordinatesystema,withthexaxisalongtheplane.Whichforcesliealongtheaxes?
ANSWER:

Ff only

Fn only

Fw only

Ff andF n

Ff andF w

Fn andF w

Ff andF n andF w

Correct

PartB
Whichforcesliealongtheaxesofthecoordinatesystemb,inwhichtheyaxisisvertical?
ANSWER:

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10/4/2017 MasteringPhysics: Assignment 3 - Forces Part One

Ff only

Fn only

Fw only

Ff andF n

Ff andF w

Fn andF w

Ff andF n andF w

Correct

Usuallythebestadviceistochooseacoordinatesystemsothattheaccelerationofthesystemisdirectlyalongoneofthe
coordinateaxes.Ifthesystemisn'taccelerating,thenyouarebetteroffchoosingthecoordinatesystemwiththemostvectors
alongthecoordinateaxes.
Butnowyouaregoingtoignorethatadvice.Youwillfindthenormalforce,F n ,usingverticalcoordinatesystemb.Inthese
coordinatesyouwillfindthemagnitudeFn appearinginboththexandyequations,eachmultipliedbyatrigonometricfunction.

PartC
Becausetheblockisnotmoving,thesumoftheycomponentsoftheforcesactingontheblockmustbezero.Findan
expressionforthesumoftheycomponentsoftheforcesactingontheblock,usingcoordinatesystemb.
ExpressyouranswerintermsofsomeorallofthevariablesFn ,Ff ,Fw ,and.

Hint1.FindtheycomponentofF n

WriteanexpressionforFny ,theycomponentoftheforceF n ,usingcoordinatesystemb.

ExpressyouranswerintermsofFn and.

Hint1.Somegeometryhelpausefulangle

ThesmalleranglebetweenF n andtheyaxisisalso,asshowninthefigure.

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10/4/2017 MasteringPhysics: Assignment 3 - Forces Part One

ANSWER:

F ny = F n cos()

Hint2.FindtheycomponentofF f

WriteanexpressionforFf y ,theycomponentoftheforceF f ,usingcoordinatesystemb.

ExpressyouranswerintermsofFf and.

Hint1.Somegeometryhelpausefulangle

ThesmalleranglebetweenF f andthexaxisis
also,asshowninthefigure.

ANSWER:

\texttip{F_{\rmfy}}{F_fy}= F_{f}{\sin}\left({\theta}\right)

ANSWER:
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10/4/2017 MasteringPhysics: Assignment 3 - Forces Part One

\sumF_y=0= F_{n}{\cos}\left({\theta}\right)+F_{f}{\sin}\left({\theta}\right)F_{w}

Correct

PartD
Becausetheblockisnotmoving,thesumofthexcomponentsoftheforcesactingontheblockmustbezero.Findan
expressionforthesumofthexcomponentsoftheforcesactingontheblock,usingcoordinatesystemb.
Expressyouranswerintermsofsomeorallofthevariables\texttip{F_{\rmn}}{F_n},\texttip{F_{\rmf\hspace{1
pt}}}{F_f},\texttip{F_{\rmw}}{F_w},and\texttip{\theta}{theta}.

Hint1.Findthexcomponentof\texttip{\vec{F}_{\rmn}}{F_n_vec}
Writeanexpressionfor\texttip{F_{\rmnx}}{F_nx},thexcomponentoftheforce\texttip{\vec{F}_{\rmn}}{F_n_vec},
usingcoordinatesystemb.
Expressyouranswerintermsof\texttip{F_{\rmn}}{F_n}and\texttip{\theta}{theta}.
ANSWER:

\texttip{F_{\rmnx}}{F_nx}= F_{n}{\sin}\left({\theta}\right)

ANSWER:

\sumF_{x}=0= F_{f}{\cos}\left({\theta}\right)F_{n}{\sin}\left({\theta}\right)

Correct

PartE
Tofindthemagnitudeofthenormalforce,youmustexpress\texttip{F_{\rmn}}{F_n}intermsof\texttip{F_{\rmw}}{F_w}
since\texttip{F_{\rmf\hspace{1pt}}}{F_f}isanunknown.Usingtheequationsyoufoundinthetwopreviousparts,findan
expressionfor\texttip{F_{\rmn}}{F_n}involving\texttip{F_{\rmw}}{F_w}and\texttip{\theta}{theta}butnot\texttip{F_{\rmf
\hspace{1pt}}}{F_f}.

Hint1.Howtoapproachtheproblem
Fromyouranswerstotheprevioustwopartsyoushouldhavetwoforceequations(\sumF_y=0and\sumF_x=0).
Combinetheseequationstoeliminate\texttip{F_{\rmf\hspace{1pt}}}{F_f}.Thekeyistomultiplytheequationforthe
ycomponentsby\cos\thetaandtheequationforthexcomponentsby\sin\theta,thenaddorsubtractthetwo
equationstoeliminatethetermF_{\rmf\hspace{1pt}}\cos(\theta)\sin(\theta).

Analternativemotivationforthealgebraistoeliminatethetrigfunctionsinfrontof\texttip{F_{\rmn}}{F_n}byusing
thetrigidentity\sin^2(\theta)+\cos^2(\theta)=1.Attheveryleastthiswouldresultinanequationthatissimpletosolve
for\texttip{F_{\rmn}}{F_n}.

ANSWER:
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10/4/2017 MasteringPhysics: Assignment 3 - Forces Part One

\texttip{F_{\rmn}}{F_n}= F_{w}{\cos}\left({\theta}\right)

Correct
Congratulationsonworkingthisthrough.Nowrealizethatincoordinatesystema,whichisalignedwiththeplane,they
coordinateequationis\sumF_y=F_{\rmn}F_{\rmW}\cos(\theta)=0,whichleadsimmediatelytotheresultobtained
herefor\texttip{F_{\rmn}}{F_n}.

CONCLUSION:Athoughtfulexaminationofwhichcoordinatesystemtochoosecansavealotofalgebra.

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