CAIE M1 2023 November — Question 6

Exam BoardCAIE
ModuleM1 (Mechanics 1)
Year2023
SessionNovember
TopicNewton's laws and connected particles

6 A railway engine of mass 120000 kg is towing a coach of mass 60000 kg up a straight track inclined at an angle of \(\alpha\) to the horizontal where \(\sin \alpha = 0.02\). There is a light rigid coupling, parallel to the track, connecting the engine and coach. The driving force produced by the engine is 125000 N and there are constant resistances to motion of 22000 N on the engine and 13000 N on the coach.
  1. Find the acceleration of the engine and find the tension in the coupling.
    At an instant when the engine is travelling at \(30 \mathrm {~m} \mathrm {~s} ^ { - 1 }\), it comes to a section of track inclined upwards at an angle \(\beta\) to the horizontal. The power produced by the engine is now 4500000 W and, as a result, the engine maintains a constant speed.
  2. Assuming that the resistance forces remain unchanged, find the value of \(\beta\).