A car is towing a trailer along a straight horizontal road by means of a horizontal tow-rope. The mass of the car is 1600 kg. The mass of the trailer is 800 kg. The car and the trailer are modelled as particles and the tow-rope as a light inextensible string. The resistances to motion of the car and the trailer are assumed to be constant and of magnitude 720 N and 320 N respectively. The driving force on the car, due to its engine, is 2720 N.
Find the acceleration of the car.
182 exam-style questions on Edexcel A Level Maths Forces and Motion, covering 10.1 Force Diagrams, 10.2 Forces as Vectors, 10.3 Forces and Acceleration, 10.4 Motion in 2 Dimensions, 10.5 Connected Particles, and 10.6 Pulleys. Each one has a worked solution and a mark scheme showing where the marks go.