Question

A compact car has a maximum acceleration of 2.0 m/s2 when it carries only the driver and has a total mass of 1100 kg . you may want to review ( pages 108 - 109) . part a what is its maximum acceleration after picking up four passengers and their luggage, adding an additional 400 kg of mass

Answer 1

According to Newton`s  law. Force exerted by car,

$F = m a = 1100 kg \times 2 m/s^2 = 2200 \ N$

After adding an additional 400 kg of mass, the force will be same therefore the acceleration

$F = 2200 \ N = (1100 \ kg + 400 \ kg) a \\\\ a = \frac{2200 \ N}{1500 \ kg} = 1.47 \ m/s^2$

Thus, the acceleration after adding the masses is 1.47 \ m/s^2.