Question

A hockey puck having a mass of 0.30 kg slides on the horizontal, frictionless surface of an ice rink. Two hockey sticks strike the puck simultaneously, exerting the forces on the puck shown in Figure below. The force F1 has a magnitude of 5.0 N, and the force F2 has a magnitude of 8.0 N. Determine both the magnitude and the direction of the puck’s acceleration

Answer 1

Calculate the magnitude of the force:

$$F=\sqrt{F_1^2+F_2^2}=\sqrt{5^2+8^2}=9.43\text{ N}.$$

If these forces are perpendicular, the direction of the force of impact with the puck will be

$$\theta=\text{ atan}\frac{F_1}{F_2}=\text{ atan}\frac{5}{8}=32^\circ$$

above the vector of force $F_2$