Karen and Bill are rearranging furniture in their house, but they don’t always agree on where all the items should go. At one instant, Karen pushes a large chest of drawers (mass of 20kg) horizontally to the right with a force of 35N, while Bill pushes horizontally to the left with a force of 45N. The chest is on a slippery marble floor, so it slides with essentially no friction. (Karen and Bill are both wearing rubber-soled shoes, so they get good traction.) What is the magnitude of the acceleration of the chest?

1 answer

F1 = 35 N.
F2 = -45 N.

a=(F1+F2)/m = (35 + (-45))/20=-0.5m/s^2=
0.5 m/s^2 To the left.