Hey guys,
Im stuck with questions where there are objects in a system
e.g. trailer and truck and have to find acceleration, tension, with and without friction
could someone please give me some tips / rules for working out these questions / any helpful info???
thanks heaps
Often the easiest way is to consider it as a whole system. eg if the truck is pulling the trailer with a force of 2000N and their
combined weight is 1000kg, F=ma => a = 2ms
-2 ignoring friction. If not ignoring friction, you have to use the net force. If the friction on each of the truck and trailer is 250N, F net= (2000-250-250)=ma
Then if you want to find the tension of the connection between the truck and trailer, use F=ma again, where a= 2ms
-2 (from earlier) and the mass of the trailer only, eg 250kg. F=ma = 500N. If not ignoring friction, F net = 500 = F (from truck) - friction => F from truck = 750N
Often drawing diagrams can help a lot too.
Often questions are similar to that. If you get stuck on a specific question I can answer in a bit more detail
Hope this helps