Li is pedaling his bike with a force of 220 N. The combined mass of Reese and her bike is 55 kg. What is the acceleration of his bike?

1 Answer
Feb 5, 2018

If it takes #220N# of force to accelerate the combined mass of the person and the bike, then its acceleration must be follow Newton's second law of motion,

#SigmavecF = m vec a#

The bike is only accelerating in the horizontal direction (you don't see people floating on bikes, besides in E.T., right?), so there is no need to resolve the force into components, and its safe to assume it is horizontal. Hence,

#220N = 55kg * a#

#therefore a approx (4.0m)/s^2#

is the approximate acceleration of the bike given your data.

Note: I assume there was negligible friction, and air resistance.