The block moves with constant velocity: for Newton's second law, this means that the resultant of the forces acting on the block is zero, because the acceleration is zero.
We are only concerned about the horizontal direction, and there are only two forces acting along this direction: the force F pushing the block and the frictional force
acting against the motion. Since their resultant must be zero, we have:
The frictional force is
where
is the coefficient of kinetic friction
is the weight of the block.
Substituting these values, we find the magnitude of the force F:
We are only concerned about the horizontal direction, and there are only two forces acting along this direction: the force F pushing the block and the frictional force
The frictional force is
where
Substituting these values, we find the magnitude of the force F:
