Question

You’re a production engineer in a cookie factory, where mounds of dough drop vertically onto a conveyor belt at the rate of one 12-g mound every 2s. You’re asked to design a mechanism that will keep the conveyor belt moving at a constant 50cm/s. What average force must the mechanism exert on the belt?

Answer 1

Answer: 0.003 N

Explanation: Force (F) = Mass (m) * Acceleration (a)

Where acceleration is the rate of change of velocity (v/t)

v = 50 cm/s

t = 2 s

M = 12 g = 0.012 kg

a = v/t = 50/2 = 25 cm/s^2 = 0.25m/s^2

Hence F = m * a = 0.012 * 0.25 = 0.003 N