A minibus of mass 4000 kg is travelling along a straight horizontal road. The resistance to motion is 900 N.
(a) Find the driving force when the acceleration of the minibus is 0.5 m s-2.
(b) Find the power required for the minibus to maintain a constant speed of 25 m s-1.
Solution
(a) Using Newton's second law, the net force is given by:
\(F - 900 = 4000 imes 0.5\)
Solving for the driving force, F:
\(F = 900 + 4000 imes 0.5 = 2900 ext{ N}\)
(b) The power required to maintain a constant speed is given by:
\(P = F imes v\)
Here, the force F is the resistance, 900 N, and the speed v is 25 m/s:
\(P = 900 imes 25 = 22500 ext{ W} ext{ or } 22.5 ext{ kW}\)
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