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Question: A \( 50kg \) skater pushed by a friend accelerates at \( 5\dfrac{m}{{{s}^{2}}} \) . How much force d...

A 50kg50kg skater pushed by a friend accelerates at 5ms25\dfrac{m}{{{s}^{2}}} . How much force did the friend apply?

Explanation

Solution

The first thing to come to our mind while reading the question is that it is a simple question which can be solved using Newton’s Laws of motion. We will be using Newton's Second Law to solve this question.
The Newton’s Second Law of motion F=maF=ma
Where FF is the force, mm is the mass and aa is the acceleration.

Complete step by step answer:
We all know that force, mass, and acceleration are common terms, but they are often misused. When applied to an object, force causes it to accelerate in the direction from which it was applied. The amount of matter contained in an item is measured in kilograms. The rate of change of velocity of an object in the same straight line as the unbalanced force is called acceleration. There is no net force and therefore no movement when forces are balanced. The influence of an unbalanced force on the motion of an object is the subject of Newton's second law, which connects these three terms. As a result, the acceleration of a fixed mass object is proportional to the force applied.
As mentioned in the above question, a 50kg50kg skater is pushed by a friend and he accelerates at 5ms25\dfrac{m}{{{s}^{2}}} , we will apply the Newton’s second law to find the force applied by the friend.
The equation of Newton’s second law can be stated as
F=maF=ma
Now, using the data given in the question, the above equation becomes
F=(50kg)(5ms2) ⇒F=250kgms2 ⇒F=250N \begin{aligned} & F=(50kg)\left( 5\dfrac{m}{{{s}^{2}}} \right) \\\ & \Rightarrow F=250\dfrac{kgm}{{{s}^{2}}} \\\ & \Rightarrow F=250N \\\ \end{aligned}
**Therefore, the force applied by the friend to push the skater is equal to F=250NF=250N .

Note: **
Newton's second law originally states that the net force acting on an object is proportional to the rate at which its momentum shifts over time in its original form. If and only if the object's mass remains constant, then this law states that an object's acceleration is directly proportional to the net force acting on it, is in the direction of the net force, and is inversely proportional to its mass.