Question

Eli and Andy want to find out which of the two is stronger. Eli pushes a table with a force of 120 newtons while Andy pushes the table from the opposite side with a force of 125 newtons. Ignoring the masses of Eli and Andy, what is the resultant acceleration of the table if its mass is 10.0 kilograms?
A> 13.5 meters/second2
B> 0.50 meters/second2
C> 4.0 meters/second2
D> 5.50 meters/second2
E> 1.35 meters/seconds2

Answer 1

B> 0.50 meters/second2

Answer 2

Given: Mass of Table m = 10.0 kg

The force applied by Eli, F1 = 120 N i

The force applied by Andy, F2 =  - 125 N i

Resultant force F = F1 + F2

or,                      F = 120 N i + ( - 125 N i )

or,                     F = - 5 N i

Hence, the table will move along the direction of the force applied by Andy.       Let a be the required acceleration, then we shall apply Newton's 2nd Law of motion.

                        m a = F

or,                         a = F ÷ m

or,                         a = - 5 N i  ÷ 10.0 kg = - 0.5 m/s² i

Hence the table will accelerate by 0.5 m/s²  in the direction of Andy's force. Therefore, the correct option will be (B) = 0.5 m/s²