Edexcel M1 2023 June — Question 7

Exam BoardEdexcel
ModuleM1 (Mechanics 1)
Year2023
SessionJune
TopicNewton's laws and connected particles

7. \begin{figure}[h]
\includegraphics[alt={},max width=\textwidth]{f2737a11-4a15-41e9-9f87-31a705a8948b-18_326_1107_246_479} \captionsetup{labelformat=empty} \caption{Figure 4}
\end{figure} A car of mass 1200 kg is towing a trailer of mass 600 kg up a straight road, as shown in Figure 4. The road is inclined at an angle \(\alpha\) to the horizontal, where \(\sin \alpha = \frac { 1 } { 12 }\)
The driving force produced by the engine of the car is 3000 N .
The car moves with acceleration \(0.75 \mathrm {~m} \mathrm {~s} ^ { - 2 }\)
The non-gravitational resistance to motion of
  • the car is modelled as a constant force of magnitude \(2 R\) newtons
  • the trailer is modelled as a constant force of magnitude \(R\) newtons
The car and the trailer are modelled as particles.
The tow bar between the car and trailer is modelled as a light rod that is parallel to the direction of motion. Using the model,
  1. show that the value of \(R\) is 60
  2. find the tension in the tow bar. When the car and trailer are moving at a speed of \(12 \mathrm {~m} \mathrm {~s} ^ { - 1 }\), the tow bar breaks.
    Given that the non-gravitational resistance to motion of the trailer remains unchanged,
  3. use the model to find the further distance moved by the trailer before it first comes to rest.