Answer to Question #244985 in Physics for Jerry

Question

Two people push a shopping cart with equal force. The cart is accelerating 0.75 m/s², and the force each person is exerting is 34 N. There is a 0.5 N force of friction, an 882 N force of gravity, and an 882 N normal force. What is the mass of the shopping cart?

Answer 1

The mass can be found by Newton's second law:

$$ma=F-\mu N,\\\space\\ m=\frac{F-\mu N}{a}=\frac{34-0.5}{0.75}=44.7\text{ kg}.$$