A tractor of mass is used to tow two farm trailers on a level road

PHYSICS · Subjective · CBSE · Physics · Laws of Motion · Laws of Motion

Problem

A tractor of mass

4\,000\,\text{kg}

is used to tow two farm trailers on a level road. The first trailer has a mass of

1\,500\,\text{kg}

and the second trailer has a mass of

2\,000\,\text{kg}

. When the driver starts from rest, the tractor engine supplies a steady horizontal force of

1.8\times10^{4}\,\text{N}

to the system. Road friction acting on the entire combination is

2.4\times10^{3}\,\text{N}

. (a) Find the net horizontal force acting on the system. (b) Determine the acceleration with which the tractor–trailer combination moves off. (c) Calculate the time taken for the combination to reach a speed of

15\,\text{m\,s}^{-1}

from rest, assuming the engine force and friction remain constant during this interval.

Related theory

Uniform Motion & Constant Acceleration in 1D
Newton's Second Law & Dynamics
Newton's laws of motion
Newton's second law
Laws of Motion
Newton's second law: force, momentum and impulse

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