Towing system: inclined road

A vehicle tows a trailer or caravan on an inclined road and you must find both the engine power (or acceleration) of the combined system and the tension in the tow-bar by applying Newton's second law separately to the trailer, accounting for the gravity component along the slope.

8 questions · Standard +0.1

6.02l Power and velocity: P = Fv
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CAIE M1 2016 November Q6
8 marks Moderate -0.3
6 A van of mass 3000 kg is pulling a trailer of mass 500 kg along a straight horizontal road at a constant speed of \(25 \mathrm {~m} \mathrm {~s} ^ { - 1 }\). The system of the van and the trailer is modelled as two particles connected by a light inextensible cable. There is a constant resistance to motion of 300 N on the van and 100 N on the trailer.
  1. Find the power of the van's engine.
  2. Write down the tension in the cable. The van reaches the bottom of a hill inclined at \(4 ^ { \circ }\) to the horizontal with speed \(25 \mathrm {~m} \mathrm {~s} ^ { - 1 }\). The power of the van's engine is increased to 25000 W .
  3. Assuming that the resistance forces remain the same, find the new tension in the cable at the instant when the speed of the van up the hill is \(20 \mathrm {~m} \mathrm {~s} ^ { - 1 }\).
Edexcel M2 2014 June Q2
10 marks Standard +0.3
2. A trailer of mass 250 kg is towed by a car of mass 1000 kg . The car and the trailer are travelling down a straight road inclined at an angle \(\theta\) to the horizontal, where \(\sin \theta = \frac { 1 } { 20 }\) The resistance to motion of the car is modelled as a single force of magnitude 300 N acting parallel to the road. The resistance to motion of the trailer is modelled as a single force of magnitude 100 N acting parallel to the road. The towbar joining the car to the trailer is modelled as a light rod which is parallel to the direction of motion. At a given instant the car and the trailer are moving down the road with speed \(25 \mathrm {~m} \mathrm {~s} ^ { - 1 }\) and acceleration \(0.2 \mathrm {~m} \mathrm {~s} ^ { - 2 }\).
  1. Find the power being developed by the car's engine at this instant.
  2. Find the tension in the towbar at this instant.
Edexcel M2 2023 June Q6
12 marks Standard +0.3
  1. A van of mass 900 kg is moving along a straight horizontal road.
The resistance to the motion of the van is modelled as a constant force of magnitude 600 N . The engine of the van is working at a constant rate of 24 kW .
At the instant when the speed of the van is \(V \mathrm {~m} \mathrm {~s} ^ { - 1 }\), the acceleration of the van is \(2 \mathrm {~ms} ^ { - 2 }\)
  1. Find the value of \(V\) Later on, the van is towing a trailer of mass 700 kg up a straight road inclined at an angle \(\theta\) to the horizontal, where \(\sin \theta = \frac { 1 } { 14 }\) The trailer is attached to the van by a towbar, as shown in Figure 3.
    The towbar is parallel to the direction of motion of the van and the trailer. \begin{figure}[h]
    \includegraphics[alt={},max width=\textwidth]{52966963-2e62-4361-bcd5-a76322f8621e-20_367_1194_1091_438} \captionsetup{labelformat=empty} \caption{Figure 3}
    \end{figure} The resistance to the motion of the van from non-gravitational forces is modelled as a constant force of magnitude 600 N . The resistance to the motion of the trailer from non-gravitational forces is modelled as a constant force of magnitude 550 N . The towbar is modelled as a light rod.
    The engine of the van is working at a constant rate of 24 kW .
  2. Find the acceleration of the van at the instant when the van and the trailer are moving with speed \(8 \mathrm {~ms} ^ { - 1 }\) At the instant when the van and the trailer are moving up the road at \(9 \mathrm {~m} \mathrm {~s} ^ { - 1 }\), the towbar breaks. The trailer continues to move in a straight line up the road until it comes to instantaneous rest. The distance moved by the trailer as it slows from a speed of \(9 \mathrm {~m} \mathrm {~s} ^ { - 1 }\) to instantaneous rest is \(d\) metres.
  3. Use the work-energy principle to find the value of \(d\).
Edexcel M2 2012 June Q6
14 marks Standard +0.3
6. A car of mass 1200 kg pulls a trailer of mass 400 kg up a straight road which is inclined to the horizontal at an angle \(\alpha\), where \(\sin \alpha = \frac { 1 } { 14 }\). The trailer is attached to the car by a light inextensible towbar which is parallel to the road. The car's engine works at a constant rate of 60 kW . The non-gravitational resistances to motion are constant and of magnitude 1000 N on the car and 200 N on the trailer. At a given instant, the car is moving at \(10 \mathrm {~m} \mathrm {~s} ^ { - 1 }\). Find
  1. the acceleration of the car at this instant,
  2. the tension in the towbar at this instant. The towbar breaks when the car is moving at \(12 \mathrm {~m} \mathrm {~s} ^ { - 1 }\).
  3. Find, using the work-energy principle, the further distance that the trailer travels before coming instantaneously to rest.
Edexcel M2 2017 June Q2
12 marks Standard +0.3
  1. A truck of mass 900 kg is towing a trailer of mass 150 kg up an inclined straight road with constant speed \(15 \mathrm {~m} \mathrm {~s} ^ { - 1 }\). The trailer is attached to the truck by a light inextensible towbar which is parallel to the road. The road is inclined at an angle \(\theta\) to the horizontal, where \(\sin \theta = \frac { 1 } { 9 }\). The resistance to motion of the truck from non-gravitational forces has constant magnitude 200 N and the resistance to motion of the trailer from non-gravitational forces has constant magnitude 50 N .
    1. Find the rate at which the engine of the truck is working.
    When the truck and trailer are moving up the road at \(15 \mathrm {~m} \mathrm {~s} ^ { - 1 }\) the towbar breaks, and the trailer is no longer attached to the truck. The rate at which the engine of the truck is working is unchanged. The resistance to motion of the truck from non-gravitational forces and the resistance to motion of the trailer from non-gravitational forces are still forces of constant magnitudes 200 N and 50 N respectively.
  2. Find the acceleration of the truck at the instant after the towbar breaks.
  3. Use the work-energy principle to find out how much further up the road the trailer travels before coming to instantaneous rest.
Edexcel M2 2024 October Q3
Standard +0.3
3. \begin{figure}[h]
\includegraphics[alt={},max width=\textwidth]{3e78f951-041d-4227-aa4b-e67a6ab5b4cd-06_275_1143_303_461} \captionsetup{labelformat=empty} \caption{Figure 1}
\end{figure} A van of mass 900 kg is moving up a straight road inclined at an angle \(\alpha\) to the horizontal, where \(\sin \alpha = \frac { 1 } { 25 }\). The van is towing a trailer of mass 200 kg . The trailer is attached to the van by a rigid towbar which is parallel to the direction of motion of the van and the trailer, as shown in Figure 1. The resistance to the motion of the van from non-gravitational forces is modelled as a constant force of magnitude 400 N .
The resistance to the motion of the trailer from non-gravitational forces is modelled as a constant force of magnitude 240 N . The towbar is modelled as a light rod.
The engine of the van is working at a constant rate of 15 kW .
  1. Find the acceleration of the van at the instant when the speed of the van is \(12 \mathrm {~ms} ^ { - 1 }\) At the instant when the speed of the van is \(14 \mathrm {~ms} ^ { - 1 }\), the trailer is passing the point \(A\) on the slope and the towbar breaks. The trailer continues to move up the slope until it comes to rest at the point \(B\).
    The resistance to the motion of the trailer from non-gravitational forces is still modelled as a constant force of magnitude 240 N .
  2. Use the work-energy principle to find the distance \(A B\).
CAIE M1 2022 November Q3
9 marks Moderate -0.3
A constant resistance of magnitude 1400 N acts on a car of mass 1250 kg.
  1. The car is moving along a straight level road at a constant speed of 28 m s\(^{-1}\). Find, in kW, the rate at which the engine of the car is working. [2]
  2. The car now travels at a constant speed up a hill inclined at an angle of \(\theta\) to the horizontal, where \(\sin \theta = 0.12\), with the engine working at 43.5 kW. Find this speed. [3]
  3. On another occasion, the car pulls a trailer of mass 600 kg up the same hill. The system of the car and the trailer is modelled as particles connected by a light inextensible cable. The car's engine produces a driving force of 5000 N and the resistance to the motion of the trailer is 300 N. The resistance to the motion of the car remains 1400 N. Find the acceleration of the system and the tension in the cable. [4]
CAIE M1 2023 November Q6
9 marks Standard +0.3
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. [5]
At an instant when the engine is travelling at 30 m 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.
  1. Assuming that the resistance forces remain unchanged, find the value of \(\beta\). [4]