The physics of tobogganing and forces at an angle:

A child is tobogganing down a hillside. The child and the toboggan together have a mass of 50.0kg. The slope is at an angle of 30.0 degrees to the horizontal. Assume that the positive y-direction is pointing in the direction of the normal force. Assume that the positive x-direction is down the incline.

Find the acceleration of the child

a) in the case where there is no friction.
b) if the coefficient of friction is 0.15.

1 answer

a) a_x = M g sin30/M = 0.50 g

b) a_x = (M g sin30 - M g cos30*0.15)/M
= g*(0.50 - .130) = 0.37 g