CAIE M1 2016 March — Question 5

Exam BoardCAIE
ModuleM1 (Mechanics 1)
Year2016
SessionMarch
TopicNewton's laws and connected particles

5 A car of mass 1200 kg is pulling a trailer of mass 800 kg up a hill inclined at an angle \(\alpha\) to the horizontal, where \(\sin \alpha = 0.1\). The system of the car and the trailer is modelled as two particles connected by a light inextensible cable. The driving force of the car's engine is 2500 N and the resistances to the car and trailer are 100 N and 150 N respectively.
  1. Find the acceleration of the system and the tension in the cable.
  2. When the car and trailer are travelling at a speed of \(30 \mathrm {~m} \mathrm {~s} ^ { - 1 }\), the driving force becomes zero. The cable remains taut. Find the time, in seconds, before the system comes to rest.