Question

horses are walking side by side while each pulls a cart from the field to the barn. the carts are identical, but each has a different load of objects. it starts to rain, and the horses speed up.

each horse pulls with the same force to get back to the barn quickly. order the loads in the carts to show the size of the acceleration each cart will have.

larger acceleration

smaller acceleration

submit

Explanation:

Step1: Calculate the mass of each load

• For 2 bundles of wheat: \(m_1 = 2\times4=8\ \text{kg}\)
• For 10 large stones: \(m_2 = 10\times8 = 80\ \text{kg}\)
• For 20 sacks of compost: \(m_3=20\times10=200\ \text{kg}\)
• For 5 wooden posts: \(m_4 = 5\times5=25\ \text{kg}\)

Step2: Use Newton's second law \(F = ma\) (where \(F\) is the force, \(m\) is the mass and \(a\) is the acceleration). Since \(F\) is the same for all carts (\(F\) is constant), \(a=\frac{F}{m}\). So, the smaller the mass \(m\), the larger the acceleration \(a\)

Step3: Compare the masses

We have \(m_1 = 8\ \text{kg}\), \(m_4=25\ \text{kg}\), \(m_2 = 80\ \text{kg}\), \(m_3=200\ \text{kg}\)

Answer:

2 bundles of wheat, 5 wooden posts, 10 large stones, 20 sacks of compost