top of page

Forces, friction, boxes & buckets.

What to expect. 

What happens to a box when you push it? What is the tension on a rope that pulls up some buckets. These questions and many more are answered here. 

Find the force and accel

​A block of mass 3.75 kg is pushed along a table with a force 45 N. The coeff of friction is .65. Find the friction and acceleration.

2 net-force examples

​Find the net force needed for a car (with friction) to maintain a constant velocity, and for one experiencing an acceleration. 

The Crumple Zone!

​What difference does it make if there is a soft bumper (crumple zone) to absorb the impact during an accident?  . 

The Little Engine that could!

​A brave little train engine pulls 3 cars each filled with heavy ore. What is the tension between each of the train cars?

The Physics of Buckets

​Two paint buckets are tied in series and being pulled upward at a constant velocity. Find the tension in each rope. Now, what if they are being accelerated upward instead? 

Newton's Mystery! 

​If you push a box ... that is then pushing another box ... and there is friction, what is the force between the boxes? 

A superhero question! 

​Two heroes want to move a box at a constant velocity. One pushes at 30 degree and one pulls at 30 degrees. Which is better? This is a challenge question. 

A Fancy Drew Mystery! 

​Fancy is called in to solve a car mystery. The driver says he did not lock his brakes. But what does the evidence show? Fancy needs to find the coefficient of friction. 

A sled question 

​Some friends pull a sled over snow. Then it hits gravel. What happens? Find the new acceleration.  

Spidee and friction 

​What coefficient of friction does Spidee need to hold a book against the wall ?   

bottom of page