A car with a mass of 900 kg accelerates uniformly from rest up an incline of 1:40 and reaches a speed of 80 km/h after 90 s. Calculate total force applied

1 answer

To calculate the total force applied to the car, we need to consider both the force required to accelerate the car and the force required to overcome the incline.

  1. Convert the final speed to meters per second: \[ 80 , \text{km/h} = \frac{80 \times 1000 , \text{m}}{3600 , \text{s}} = \frac{80000}{3600} \approx 22.22 , \text{m/s} \]

  2. Calculate the acceleration: The car starts from rest (initial speed \( u = 0 , \text{m/s} \)) and reaches a speed of 22.22 m/s in 90 seconds. \[ a = \frac{v - u}{t} = \frac{22.22 , \text{m/s} - 0 , \text{m/s}}{90 , \text{s}} \approx 0.2469 , \text{m/s}^2 \]

  3. Calculate the total mass of the car: The mass \( m \) of the car is given as 900 kg.

  4. Calculate the net force required for acceleration using Newton's second law: \[ F_{acc} = m \cdot a = 900 , \text{kg} \cdot 0.2469 , \text{m/s}^2 \approx 222.21 , \text{N} \]

  5. Calculate the incline angle: The incline ratio of 1:40 means the rise is 1 meter for every 40 meters of horizontal distance. Using trigonometry: \[ \tan(\theta) = \frac{1}{40} \implies \theta \approx \tan^{-1}(0.025) \implies \theta \approx 1.43^{\circ} \]

  6. Calculate the gravitational force acting down the incline: The gravitational force down the incline can be calculated as: \[ F_{gravity} = m \cdot g \cdot \sin(\theta) \] where \( g \approx 9.81 , \text{m/s}^2 \) is the acceleration due to gravity, \[ F_{gravity} = 900 , \text{kg} \cdot 9.81 , \text{m/s}^2 \cdot \sin(1.43^{\circ}) \approx 900 \cdot 9.81 \cdot 0.025 \approx 22.1 , \text{N} \]

  7. Calculate the total force applied: The total force \( F_{total} \) required to both accelerate the car and overcome the gravitational force down the incline is: \[ F_{total} = F_{acc} + F_{gravity} \approx 222.21 , \text{N} + 22.1 , \text{N} \approx 244.31 , \text{N} \]

Thus, the total force applied to the car is approximately 244.31 N.