What is the mass of this car based on given forces?

[Ace.]

Homework Statement

Each of the four wheels of a car pushes on the road with a force of 4.0 x 10³ N [down]. The driving force on the car is 8.0 x 10³ N [west]. The frictional resistance on the car is 6.0 x 10³ N [east]. Calculate the mass of the car.

Homework Equations

F = ma
F_net = F₁ + F₂

The Attempt at a Solution

F_net = F₁ + F₂
F_net = F_A - F_f

= 8.0 x 10³ - 6.0 x 10³​

= 2000 N [west]​

Total force of all four wheels:
(4.0 x 10³ N [down]) x 4

= 16000 N [down]​

F_N = 16000 N[up]
But this is only part of the Normal Force, because the rest is coming from the weight of the car.

It seems to me that there isn't enough info to find mass?

 

[Ace.]

Wait, is the normal force simply the force of all the wheels ?

 

[berkeman]

Homework Statement

Each of the four wheels of a car pushes on the road with a force of 4.0 x 10³ N [down]. The driving force on the car is 8.0 x 10³ N [west]. The frictional resistance on the car is 6.0 x 10³ N [east]. Calculate the mass of the car.

Homework Equations

F = ma
F_net = F₁ + F₂

The Attempt at a Solution

F_net = F₁ + F₂
F_net = F_A - F_f

= 8.0 x 10³ - 6.0 x 10³​

= 2000 N [west]​

Total force of all four wheels:
(4.0 x 10³ N [down]) x 4

= 16000 N [down]​

F_N = 16000 N[up]
But this is only part of the Normal Force, because the rest is coming from the weight of the car.

It seems to me that there isn't enough info to find mass?

Wait, is the normal force simply the force of all the wheels ?

That would be my answer. The horizontal movement forces in this case would not seem to affect the vertical weight.

 

[berkeman]

Actually, it looks from the sum of the horizontal forces that the car is accelerating, which will unbalance the weight on the front and back tires, but the sum of all 4 should be the same as at rest, I would think.

Hmm, need to think more about that...

 

[Nickie]

Based on the given information, we can calculate the net force acting on the car, but we cannot determine the mass without knowing the acceleration of the car. The equation F = ma requires knowledge of both force and acceleration to solve for mass. Therefore, we would need additional information, such as the acceleration or velocity of the car, to accurately calculate the mass. Alternatively, if we assume a constant velocity (zero acceleration), then the mass of the car would be equal to the ratio of the net force to the acceleration (which would be 0 in this case). However, this would not be an accurate representation of the true mass of the car.