Question

Q. You apply a very small force, say 0.001 newtons, to a very large truck,

with a mass of 2000 kilograms. What can you say for sure about what will happen to the truck?

A. The truck will accelerate(move from rest to motion) as long as that tiny force is larger than any force of friction that opposes it.

B. The truck will not move because small forces cannot move large objects.

C. The truck will accelerate(move from rest to motion)as long as the small applied force is large enough to overcome the inertia of truck

D. An extremely small force can never accelerate such a large truck. The truck will not move under any circumstance.

Answer 1

Solution:- Given,

mass of truck, m=2000 Kg

The friction force which opposes the truck movement is the friction

f=r*mg r= friction coefficient of the surface

f=r*2000*9.81 ; r>0

The force applied, F=0.001 N

So if the coefficient of friction is very small (almost smooth surface) then this amount of force can overcome

the friction force and inertia of truck. Then only truck can accelerate.

so option (c) is correct.

(C)The truck will accelerate(move from rest to motion)as long as the small applied force is large enough to overcome the inertia of truck.