Five boys are pushing on a snowball,and each is pushing with a force of 20.0 N.However,each boy is pushing in a different direction.They are pushing north,northeast,east,southeast,and south.(Each boy is pushing at an angle of 45.0° relative to his neighbor. )What is the magnitude of the total force on the ball?
A) 54.2 N
B) 48.3 N
C) 24.1 N
D) 0 N

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

To solve this problem, we need to use vector addition. We can draw a diagram to represent each boy's force as a vector, each with a magnitude of 20.0 N and an angle of 45.0° relative to his neighbor.

By adding up all the vectors, we can find the total force on the snowball. One way to do this is to use the Pythagorean theorem and trigonometry to find the x and y components of the total force, and then use vector addition to find the magnitude and direction of the total force.

Alternatively, we can use the parallelogram method of vector addition. We can draw a parallelogram with adjacent sides equal to two of the vectors, and then draw the diagonal of the parallelogram to represent the sum of the vectors. The magnitude of the diagonal represents the magnitude of the total force, and its direction represents the direction of the total force.

Using either method, we find that the magnitude of the total force on the snowball is approximately 48.3 N, so the best choice is B.

Five Boys Are Pushing on a Snowball,and Each Is Pushing