What force will a car hit a tree If the car has a mass of 3000kg and is accelerating at a rate of 2m/s2?

1 Answer
Meave60
Oct 12, 2014

According to Newton's second law of motion, the acceleration of a body is directly proportional to the force acting on the body and inversely proportional to its mass. The formula for this law is #a# = #"F"/m#, from which we get the formula #"F"# = #ma#. When mass is in kg and acceleration is in #"m/s/s"# or #"m/s"^2#, the unit of force is #"kgm/s"^2#, which is read as kiligram-meter per second squared. This unit is replaced with an N in honor of Isaac Newton. Your problem can be solved as follows:

Known/Unknown:
#m# = #"3000kg"#
#a# = #"2m/s"^2#

Equation:
#"F"# = #ma#

Solution:
#"F"# = #ma# = #"3000kg"# x #"2m/s"^2# = #"6000kgm/s"^2# = #"6000N"#

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