Question

A 77 kg sprinter is running the 100 m dash. At one instant, early in the race, his acceleration is 4.7 m/s^2.

a) What total force does the track surface exert on the sprinter? Assume his acceleration is parallel to the ground. Give your answer as a magnitude.

b) What total force does the track surface exert on the sprinter? Assume his acceleration is parallel to the ground, and give your answer as an angle with respect to the horizontal.

c) This force is applied to one foot (the other foot is in the air), which for a fraction of a second is stationary with respect to the track surface. Because the foot is stationary, the net force on it must be zero. Thus the force of the lower leg bone on the foot is equal but opposite to the force of the track on the foot. If the lower leg bone is 60 degrees from horizontal, what is the components of the leg’s force on the foot in the direction parallel to the leg? (Force components perpendicular to the leg can cause dislocation of the ankle joint.)

d) What is the components of the leg’s force on the foot in the direction perpendicular to the leg?

Can someone help me on this problem please? I tried googling it, and found I should use a^2 + b^2 = c^2 for A, but I'm so lost I don't even know what numbers I should be using to plug into that equation with.

Answer 1

You can find the solution in
http://www.cabrillo.edu/~cfigueroa/11/11prob_sets/Solutions/11prob_sol_5%20.pdf