Calculating Distance Traveled by a Student Pushed with Constant Force
In this scenario, a student is wearing frictionless in-line skates on a horizontal surface and is pushed by a friend with a constant force of 50.0 N. The goal is to determine how far the student must be pushed, starting from rest, so that her final kinetic energy is 350 J.
Calculating Distance:
Given data:
Force = 50 N
Final Kinetic Energy = 350 J
To find the distance traveled by the student, we can use the concept of work done. The energy possessed by an object over a distance represents the work done by the object. Mathematically, work done is given by the formula:
Work done = Force * Distance
By substituting the given values into the formula, we have:
350 J = 50 N * Distance
Distance = 350 J / 50 N = 7 meters
Therefore, the student must be pushed a distance of 7 meters from rest to achieve a final kinetic energy of 350 J.