heet

3El
Fortopic
3:4 Friction
andlts Effects

ffi- Buildyour understanding!

Attempt the following questions on your own or in a group setting.
1..

A metal box attachedto a small parachuteis dropped from a helicopter.

(a) Explain in terms of the forces acting, why
(i)

its velocity increasedimmediately after being dropped.

Whenthc mctal box (attachecl
to thiparachute)is released
fl'ornrest,thereis no air'
rcsistance
actingon it. The net ltlrceactingon it is its weight I/clownwards.Hence.at the
m o m e n t o l ' r c l c a s e . t h e i n i t i aalc c e l e r a t i o n o f t h e r l e t abl o x i s a -

11' -

rrts -,g,wherern

is the nrasso1-thenretalbox arrdg is the acceleration

due to gravity.This explainsr.l'hyits
velocityincrcases
imnlediatclyaftcr being droppccl

(ii) it reacheduniform velocity after a short time.

R actingupwards
theweightW.The
Whentheparachute
opens,
tlreair resistance
opposes
''

dorvnu'ardacceleration
,, - "

thc'air
is nou,lessthang in (i). As the velocityincreases.
lt'- R

r e s i s t a n c c R a l s o i n c r e a s e s p r o p o r t i o n aR
l l y- I.lu' .nTthi le n a -

;;-:0.u'hichrleansthe

box lalls at Lrniftrrr.r.r

velocitv

(b) (i)

The total force opposing the motion of the box and parachute at a particular
instant during their fall is 30 N. The combined massof the box and parachute
is 5.0 kg. Calculatethe resultantforce acting on the box and parachute.(Take
g=10ms-2)
I nda s/si /- 5 . 0k g . g - l ( Jn rs l
C i r e n :R . 1 0N . c o m b i r r e
By Ne'uvton'sSecond Lau,^
Resultant dor'vnr'vardfbrce 1" : Ii'
-tng

R
R

- ( 5 . 0 lx0 )- 3 0
-20N

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PhysicsMattersWorkbookVolume1 25

(ii) Briefly describethe motion of'the box and parachuteat this instant.
At the instant when F: 20 N. the box is still accelerating downwards and its velocitv is
therefore still increasing. However, the acceleration is less than the initial acceleration of
8: l0 m sr.

2.

(a) Commenton the following statement:

Friction can be both a const:ructiueforce as well as a destructiueforce.
Give two everydayexamplesto support the abovestatementwith reasons.
Friction is needed for walking or holding a pen. Friction causeswear and tear in the moving parts
ofan engine.

(b) Figure 3.5 shows a box of mass2 kg pushedby an external force F of 10 N that
causesit to move at constantspeed.
constantspeed
-'----+

<Figure
3.5
roughtabletop
Friction/: 10N

(i)

Draw the other horizontal force in Figure 3.5 which is acting on the box.
Indicate its nature, line of action and magnitude.

(ii) If F is increasedto 20 N, calculate*1s ,.ccelerationproduced.

By Newton's SecondLaw,
Net force : F -f: ma
F-f
. . .a :
^
20-10
: S * t'(towards the right)

t
.,

30

@2007Marshall CavendishInternational(S) Pte Ltd

yoursetf!

#"hallenge

Attempt the following questions on your own. You are advised to spend no more than the
time indicated.
1,

Figure 3.6 below shows acar of mass 1000 kgtravelling at a uniform speedof 12 m s-1

Resistive
force
t0 motr0n

Forward
driving
force

rFigure
3.6
If the forward driving force is 2000 N, what is the magnitude of the resistive force to
motion acting on the car?
A

ON

2OOON

3OOON

D 12000N

( s )

Working/Explanation
C a r t r a r e l s r . l i t h c o n s t a n ts l t c c d .s o b o t l r f b r c e sa r e o p p o s i n ga n d e q L r a l .

2,

When a wooden box of mass10 kg is pushedalong a floor with a force of 40 N, it moves

with a constant speedof 0.40 m s-1.\Whenthe box is pushed along the samefloor with
a force of 100 N, it moves with a constant
A
B

speedof 1.0 m s-r.

speedof 6.0 m s-1.

C accelerationof 0.6 m s-2.

D accelerationof 6.0 m s-2.

D )

Working/Explanation
T h e r ci s 1 0 0 - 1 0- 6 0 N r c s u l t a nltb r c c
,,-;

1 6 0-

-olllSa

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T.

PhysicsMattersWorkbookVolume1 27

3.

Figure3.7 showsa car travellingat 30 m s-l on a levelroad. At this speed,the car has
to overcomea total force of 500 N opposingthe car.

rrlffi*r
<Figure3.,
(a) (i)

Calculatethe distancetravelled by the car in L0 s.

d : v t = 3 0x l 0 : 3 0 0m

(ii) Statethe value of the driving force produced by the enginefor a steadyspeed
of 30 m s{.
600N

(b) Explain why the car slowsdown when it climbs a hill eventhough the driving force
is unchanfed.
Opposing force is increasedbecausenow a component ofgravitational force parallel to the slope
acts against the upward motion of the car.

(c) Vhile travelling at 30 m s-r on the level road, the driving force becomeszero.
The massof the car is 800 kg. Calculatethe decelerationof the car.
F

a=-:

-600

=0.75msr

[an02tP2lQtl

t
-p
8B

Forces

@2007 Marshall Cavendishlnternational (S) Pte Ltd

4.

A bob of weight 40 N is suspendedby a string at P (Figure3.8). The bob is pulled to

one sideby a springbalancewhich registersa readingof 30 N. Calculatethe magnitude
and direction of the tension in the string.
P
string

S c a l e1 c m : l 0 N
spring
balance
30N

<Figure3.8

The tension can be found by using the parallelogram method.

50 N; 37' to the vertical

5.

Two forcesF, and F, act on a small beadP as shown in Figure3.9 below. A third force
'Sfhat
F, actson P so that it is in equilibrium.
is the magnitudeand the directionof F.?

Scalelcm:1N

lcm I
{
P

/
/,
,,/

n otl

w ---t-

F"
{,
I_

lcm
rFigure3.9
Studentsshould use the parallelogram method to solve.
5.4 N; SW direction,22' to the horizontal

'''.'..-.":

{q

-?1!..:11

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Phvsics MattersWorkbookVolume 1 2 9