Question

A father is trying to teach his child to ice skate. As the child stands still, the father pushes him forward with an acceleration of 2.0 m/s2 north. If the child's mass is 20 kg what is the force with which the father is pushing

Answer 1

Hi there!

We can use Newton's Second Law:

$\Sigma F = ma$

∑F = net force (N)

m = mass (kg)

a = acceleration (m/s²)

We are given the mass and acceleration, so:

∑F = 20 · 2 = 40 N