A 54 kg skier starts from rest at the top of a snow - covered hill, reaching a velocity of 12 m/ s in 5.0 s. Calculate the net force acting on the skier.

Answer 1

To calculate the net force acting on the skier, we can use Newton's second law of motion:

F = m * a

Where F is the net force, m is the mass of the skier, and a is the acceleration of the skier.

We can calculate the acceleration using the following equation:

a = (v - u) / t

Where v is the final velocity, u is the initial velocity (0 m/s since the skier starts from rest), and t is the time taken to reach the final velocity.

Given:
m = 54 kg (mass of the skier)
v = 12 m/s (final velocity)
t = 5.0 s (time taken to reach the final velocity)

First, let's calculate the acceleration:

a = (v - u) / t
a = (12 - 0) / 5.0
a = 2.4 m/s²

Now, we can calculate the net force:

F = m * a
F = 54 kg * 2.4 m/s²
F = 129.6 N

Therefore, the net force acting on the skier is 129.6 N.