A car is towing a trailer along a straight horizontal road by means of a horizontal tow-rope. The mass of the car is 1400 kg. The mass of the trailer is 700 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 630 N and 280 N respectively. The driving force on the car, due to its engine, is 2380 N.
Find the acceleration of the car.
Find the tension in the tow-rope.
State how you have used the assumption that the car and trailer are modelled as particles.
When the car and trailer are moving at 12 m s-1, the tow-rope breaks. Assuming that the driving force on the car and the resistances to motion are unchanged, find the distance moved by the car in the first 4 s after the tow-rope breaks.
35 exam-style questions on WJEC A Level Maths 2.8 Forces and Newton's laws, covering 2.8.1 Forces and Newton's laws, 2.8.2 Forces and Newton's laws, 2.8.3 Forces and Newton's laws, 2.8.4 Forces and Newton's laws, 2.8.5 Forces and Newton's laws, and 2.8.6 Forces and Newton's laws. Each one has a worked solution and a mark scheme showing where the marks go.