How Do You Calculate the Force of Friction for a Moving Car?

[Koyuki]

This is probably horribly easy, but it's almost 1 AM so I'm going nutty trying to figure this one out.

The questoni: "A 2000kg car is traveling at a constant 30m/s with the motor producing a force of 4000 N forward. Find the force of friction."

I drew the diagram. Is acceleration 0?

I'd appreciate any help. Thank you~

 

[whozum]

There is a force forward of 4000N that is being completely negated by friction, since it is moving at constant velocity.. If the net force is 0, what is the force of friction?

 

[quicknote]

I can provide a response to your question about finding the force of friction. The first step in solving this problem is to understand the concept of friction. Friction is a force that opposes the motion of an object and is dependent on the type of surfaces in contact and the normal force between them. In this case, the car is moving at a constant velocity, which means that there is no acceleration. This also means that the net force on the car is zero, as there is no change in its motion.

To find the force of friction, we can use the formula Ff = μFn, where Ff is the force of friction, μ is the coefficient of friction, and Fn is the normal force. Since the car is traveling at a constant velocity, we can assume that the normal force is equal to the weight of the car, which is 2000kg times the acceleration due to gravity (9.8 m/s^2). This gives us a normal force of 19,600 N.

Now, we need to find the coefficient of friction. This value depends on the type of surfaces in contact and can vary from 0 (perfectly smooth surfaces) to 1 (very rough surfaces). Without knowing the specific surfaces in contact, we cannot determine the exact value of μ. However, we can make an assumption and use a common coefficient of friction for car tires on a road, which is around 0.7.

Substituting our values into the formula, we get Ff = 0.7 x 19,600 N = 13,720 N. This is the force of friction acting on the car, which is opposing the forward force produced by the motor.

In conclusion, the force of friction in this scenario is 13,720 N, which is the force that is preventing the car from accelerating further. I hope this explanation helps and if you have any further questions, please don't hesitate to ask.