Question

How do you calculate the force needed to move a car?

Answer 1

Explanation:

The formula for calculating the force required is:

$\mathrm{F}=\mathrm{ma}$

Where ‘m’ is the mass of the car and ‘a’ is the acceleration.

For example,

Calculate the force required to impart a car, a velocity of 30 m/s in 10 seconds. The mass of the car is 1500 kg.

Step 1: Acceleration calculation

As per Newton's second law

$\mathrm{F}=\mathrm{ma}$

a= acceleration of the car

Since acceleration is constant, therefore applying the equation of motion

$\mathrm{v}=\mathrm{u}+\mathrm{at}$

Where, v=30m/s ; u=o and t=10 seconds

$\begin{array}{rcl}30& =& 0+\mathrm{a}\times 10\\ \mathrm{a}& =& 3\mathrm{m}/{\mathrm{s}}^2\end{array}$

Step 2: Force calculation

$\begin{array}{rcl}\mathrm{F}& =& \mathrm{ma}\\ \mathrm{F}& =& 1500\times 3\\ \mathrm{F}& =& 4500\mathrm{Newton}\end{array}$

Hence, the force required to impart a car to achieve30 m/s in 10 seconds is 4500 Newton.