Edexcel M1 2018 October — Question 7

Exam BoardEdexcel
ModuleM1 (Mechanics 1)
Year2018
SessionOctober
TopicNewton's laws and connected particles

7. A truck of mass 1600 kg is towing a car of mass 960 kg along a straight horizontal road. The truck and the car are joined by a light rigid tow bar. The tow bar is horizontal and is parallel to the direction of motion. The truck and the car experience constant resistances to motion of magnitude 640 N and \(R\) newtons respectively. The truck's engine produces a constant driving force of magnitude 2100 N . The magnitude of the acceleration of the truck and the car is \(0.4 \mathrm {~ms} ^ { - 2 }\).
  1. Show that \(R = 436\)
  2. Find the tension in the tow bar. The two vehicles come to a hill inclined at an angle \(\alpha\) to the horizontal where \(\sin \alpha = \frac { 1 } { 15 }\). The truck and the car move down a line of greatest slope of the hill with the tow bar parallel to the direction of motion. The truck's engine produces a constant driving force of magnitude 2100 N . The magnitudes of the resistances to motion on the truck and the car are 640 N and 436 N respectively.
  3. Find the magnitude of the acceleration of the truck and the car as they move down the hill.
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