Two teams are playing tug of war. The tables show the members of each team and how much pulling force each team member applies to the rope.

Team A

Members

Pulling Force

(N)

Darlene 360
Eric 400
Keshawn 450
Team B

Members

Pulling Force

(N)

Anita 350
Frank 390
Molly 490
If Team A pulls to the right and Team B pulls to the left, what is the total horizontal net force applied to the rope?

(1 point)
Responses

20 N to the left
20 N to the left

20 N to the right
20 N to the right

40 N to the left
40 N to the left

40 N to the right
40 N to the right
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1 answer

To calculate the total horizontal net force applied to the rope, we need to sum the pulling forces for each team and then determine the direction of the net force.

Team A:

  • Darlene: 360 N
  • Eric: 400 N
  • Keshawn: 450 N

Total pulling force from Team A: \[ 360 , \text{N} + 400 , \text{N} + 450 , \text{N} = 1210 , \text{N} \text{ (to the right)} \]

Team B:

  • Anita: 350 N
  • Frank: 390 N
  • Molly: 490 N

Total pulling force from Team B: \[ 350 , \text{N} + 390 , \text{N} + 490 , \text{N} = 1230 , \text{N} \text{ (to the left)} \]

Now, we can determine the net force: \[ \text{Net Force} = (\text{Force of Team A}) - (\text{Force of Team B}) \] \[ \text{Net Force} = 1210 , \text{N} , \text{(to the right)} - 1230 , \text{N} , \text{(to the left)} \] \[ \text{Net Force} = 1210 , \text{N} - 1230 , \text{N} = -20 , \text{N} \]

A negative net force indicates that the net force is to the left. Therefore, the total horizontal net force applied to the rope is:

20 N to the left.