PHYSICS · Multi-part · A Level · Physics · Mechanics and materials · Mechanics and materials
Problem
A dog-sled team pulls a load across level snow. The sled (with driver) has a mass of 80kg, and a separate cargo sled of mass 40kg is attached behind it by a light tow rope. The coefficient of kinetic friction between every sled runner and the snow is 0.10. The two dogs together exert a constant horizontal force of 400N on the front sled via the harness rope. Assume the ropes remain horizontal, light, and inextensible, and that the system starts from rest.
(a) Calculate the magnitude of the acceleration of the entire two-sled system.
(b) Determine the magnitude of the tension in the tow rope between the front sled and the cargo sled while they accelerate.
(c) Compute the kinetic frictional force acting on each sled. Explain how these frictional forces influence the result obtained in part (b).