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AP Physics C: Mechanics : Forces

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for AP Physics C: Mechanics

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Example Questions

Example Question #4 : Newton's Laws And Force Diagrams

Box

A box is being pushed against a wall by a force as shown in the picture. If the coefficient of static friction between the box and the wall is $\mu$ , which of the following expressions represents what the force must be for the box not to fall?

Possible Answers:

$F = \frac{mg}{\mu }$

$F = \frac{m}{\mu }$

$F = \frac{mg}{2\mu }$

None of these

$F = \frac{2mg}{\mu }$

Correct answer:

$F = \frac{mg}{\mu }$

Explanation:

This question requires a 2-dimensional analysis. First identify all the forces acting on the box. Since the box is being pushed against a surface it automatically experiences a normal force . The box experiences the downward force of its own weight given by . Finally, since the box is trying to slide down, friction opposes this motion. The following diagram shows these forces:

Box2

The key is that the box should NOT move.

For the horizontal axis, net force must be zero. The two horizontal forces are the applied force and the normal force.

F - N = 0N

F = N

Now, on the vertical axis we have fiction and the object's weight:

f - mg = 0N

f = mg

Finally, we use the equation for friction force to solve the problem.

$f= N\mu$

Substitute the weight, since it is equal to the force of friction.

$N\mu=mg$

Isolate the normal force.

$N=\frac{mg}{\mu }$

Since the normal force is equal to the applied force, this is our final expression.

$F = N = \frac{mg}{\mu }$

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Example Question #5 : Newton's Laws And Force Diagrams

Box3

A box of mass 10kg is pulled by a force as shown in the diagram. The surface is frictionless. How much force is the box experiencing along the horizontal axis?

Possible Answers:

17.32 N

173 N

200 N

10N

Correct answer:

10N

Explanation:

You need only to obtain the horizontal component of the force. To do this you must use trigonometric properties.

We see that the force makes an angle of 60º with the horizontal axis. This means that the horizontal component of the force is adjacent to this angle. We can view the diagram as a triangle. From trigonometry we know that to calculate the adjacent side of a triangle we need to multiply the hypotenuse by the cosine of the angle.

$\cos\theta=\frac{adj}{hyp}\rightarrow adj=(hyp)(\cos\theta)$

We can solve for the horizontal component of the force using the applied force as the hypotenuse:

$F_{x} = Fcos(60º) = 20N*\frac{1}{2} = 10N$

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All AP Physics C: Mechanics Resources

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AP Physics C: Mechanics : Forces

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for AP Physics C: Mechanics

All AP Physics C: Mechanics Resources

Example Questions

Example Question #4 : Newton's Laws And Force Diagrams

Example Question #5 : Newton's Laws And Force Diagrams

All AP Physics C: Mechanics Resources

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