Question

Nikolas had an idea that he could use the compressed carbon dioxide in a fire extinguisher to propel him on his skateboard.

Nikolas, the fire extinguisher, and the skateboard have a combined mass of 50 kg. What force would the fire extinguisher have to produce to propel Nikolas if he wanted to accelerate at a rate of 1.2 m/s2? Round your answer to the nearest whole newton.

N

Answer 1

To calculate the force needed to propel Nikolas at an acceleration of 1.2 m/s^2, we can use Newton's second law of motion:

F = m * a

Where:
F = force (in newton)
m = mass (in kg)
a = acceleration (in m/s^2)

Given:
m = 50 kg
a = 1.2 m/s^2

Plugging in the values:

F = 50 kg * 1.2 m/s^2
F = 60 N

Therefore, the fire extinguisher would have to produce a force of 60 newtons to propel Nikolas at an acceleration of 1.2 m/s^2.