Question

Two men decide to use their cars to pull a
truck stuck in mud. They attach ropes and
one pulls with a force of 757 N at an angle
of 27◦ with respect to the direction in which
the truck is headed, while the other car pulls
with a force of 1177 N at an angle of 18◦ with
respect to the same direction What is the net forward force exerted on
the truck in the direction it is headed?
Answer in units of N

Answer 1

Answer on Question #39351, Physics, Mechanics

Two men decide to use their cars to pull a truck stuck in mud. They attach ropes and one pulls with a force of $757\mathrm{N}$ at an angle of $27{}^{\circ}$ with respect to the direction in which the truck is headed, while the other car pulls with a force of $1177\mathrm{N}$ at an angle of $18{}^{\circ}$ with respect to the same direction. What is the net forward force exerted on the truck in the direction it is headed? Answer in units of N.

Solution:

The net force is the overall force acting on an object.

$F_{1} = 757N,$

$F_{2} = 1177N,$

The net forward force exerted on the truck in the direction it is headed:

$F_{x} = F_{1x} + F_{2x} = F_{1}\cdot \cos (27{}^{\circ}) + F_{2}\cdot \cos (18{}^{\circ}) = 757\cdot \cos (27{}^{\circ}) + 1177\cdot \cos (18{}^{\circ})$

$F_{x} = 757\cdot 0.891 + 1177\cdot 0.951 = 1793.8\approx 1794N$

Answer. 1794 N