Question

An 80-kg firefighter slides down a fire pole. After 1.3 seconds of sliding, the firefighter is sliding at a velocity of 6.5 m/s, straight down the pole. Once this velocity is reached, the firefighter grips the pole so that the force of friction exerted by the firefighter's hands on the pole is equal to the force of gravity. At this point what is the downward acceleration of the firefighter

Answer 1

Answer:

a= 0

Explanation:

• In the vertical direction, if the friction force (directed upward) is equal to the force of gravity (downward) this means that no net force is acting on the firefighter.
• According to Newton's 2nd Law, if no net force is present, the acceleration in this direction is just zero, as follows:

       $F_{net} = m*a = 0 (1)$

      ⇒ a = 0