Question

A 50 kg person rows his boat towards the east with 5 N of force. The stream pushes his rowboat to the south with 12 N of force. What is the acceleration of the boat?

Answer 1

Answer:

The acceleration of the boat is:

$a=0.26\: m/s^{2}$

Explanation:

We need to find the total force acting on the boat, first of all.

We have one force (F1) towards the east and a second force (F2) towards the south, forming a right triangle.

So, we can use the Pythagorean theorem to find the magnitude of the total force (F(tot))

$F_{tot}=\sqrt{F_{1}^{2}+F_{2}^{2}}$

$F_{tot}=\sqrt{5^{2}+(-12)^{2}}$

$F_{tot}=13\: N$

Applying Newton's second law, we can find the acceleration of the boat.

$F_{tot}=ma$

$a=\frac{F_{tot}}{m}$

$a=\frac{13}{50}$

$a=0.26\: m/s^{2}$

I hope it helps you!