Question

It's possible for a determined group of people to pull an aircraft. Drag is negligible at low speeds, and the only force impeding motion is the rolling friction of the rubber tires on the concrete runway. In 2000, a team of 60 British police officers set a world record by pulling a Boeing 747, with a mass of 200,000 kg, a distance of 100 m in 53 s. The plane started at rest. Suppose that the Rolling Friction Coefficient = 0.02.
Estimate the force with which each officer pulled on the plane, assuming constant pulling force and constant acceleration.

Answer 1

Answer:

$F_o = 890.67 N$

Explanation:

initial speed of the aircraft = 0

it covers a distance = 100 m

time taken by it = 53 s

so we will have

$d = v_i t + \frac{1}{2}at^2$

$100 = 0 + \frac{1}{2}a(53^2)$

$a = 0.071 m/s^2$

now we know that there are two forces on the aircraft

1) applied force in forward direction

2) friction force in opposite direction

so we will have

$F - \mu mg = ma$

$F - (0.02)(200,000)(9.81) = 200,000(0.071)$

$F = 39,240 + 14,200$

$F = 53440 N$

so net force by 60 officers is 53440 N

so force due to each officer is given as

$F_o = \frac{53440}{60} = 890.67 N$