An overnight rainstorm has caused a major roadblock. Three massive rocks of mass

Question

An overnight rainstorm has caused a major roadblock. Three massive rocks of mass m1 = 5.00 × 102 kg, m2 = 884 kg and m3 = 366 kg have blocked a busy road. The rocks are side by side blocking the road and lined up from left to right in order as m1, m2 and m3. The city calls a local contractor to use a bulldozer to clear the road. The bulldozer applies a constant force to m1 to slide the rocks off the road. Assuming the road is a flat frictionless surface and the rocks are all in contact, what force, FA, must be applied to m1 to slowly accelerate the group of rocks from the road at 0.100 m/s2?

Use the value found above for FA to find the force, F12, exerted by the first rock of mass 5.00 × 102 kg on the middle rock of 884 kg.

Note: this question has two answers

Explanation / Answer

the rocks are all in contact, so the total mass m = 500 + 884 + 366 = 1750 kg
From Newton's Second Law, force = mass * acceleration
Fa = 1750*0.100 = 175 N
The force required to accelerate the first rock on its own to 0.100 m/sec^2 would just be
500*0.100 = 50 N
So force F12 is the difference between 50 N and Fa
F12 = (175 - 50 ) = 125 N

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