Determining the Mass of a Wagon Pulled by Two Horses

What is the mass of the wagon being pulled by two horses Thunder and Misty?

Acceleration of the wagon: 1.3 m/s²

Force of friction: 75 N

Force of Thunder: 1001 N

Force of Misty: 800 N

Force of gravity: 14,700 N

Normal force: 14,700 N

Answer:

The mass of the wagon being pulled by two horses Thunder and Misty is approximately 1328 kg.

To determine the mass of the wagon, we used Newton's second law of motion, calculating the net force applied by the horses subtracting the friction force, and then dividing this by the wagon's acceleration. The calculated mass of the wagon is approximately 1328 kg.

The question seeks to determine the mass of a wagon being pulled by two horses, Thunder and Misty, with a known acceleration and given forces acting on the wagon including friction, pulling forces, gravity, and normal force. To find the mass, we use Newton's second law of motion, which states that the net force acting on an object is equal to the mass (m) of the object multiplied by its acceleration (a).

The net force (Fnet) is the sum of all forces acting on the wagon in the direction of motion (which is the sum of the forces exerted by the horses minus the force of friction):

Fnet = FThunder + FMisty - Ffriction

Inserting the given values:

Fnet = 1001 N + 800 N - 75 N = 1726 N

Now we apply Newton's second law Fnet = m × a to solve for mass:

1726 N = m × 1.3 m/s²

Dividing both sides of the equation by the acceleration:

m = 1726 N / 1.3 m/s² = 1327.69 kg

Rounding to the nearest whole number:

m ≈ 1328 kg