A vehicle towing a trailer, vertical motion against a resistance, and a lift
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The teaching part (1 min) is free to watch. A free account opens the whole lecture: 6 practice questions, 1 real past-paper question with the answer explained, the mistakes that lose marks, the full-marks tip, a one-card summary and a quick quiz.
What this lecture covers
- Motion up, down and along
- Car and trailer
Read the transcript of the teaching part
Last time
Before we start: last time, in A car against a resistance, and motion on rough and smooth inclined planes, you learned these points. Here they are again on one card. Keep them in mind, because today builds on them.
Motion up, down and along
A car towing a caravan. A hammer driving a nail. A lift carrying a crate. Each has forces along one line, and each uses the same equation, net force equals mass times acceleration. What changes is which forces are on the list: tow-bar tension, resistance, weight, cable tension. Write them all down and the algebra is easy.
Car and trailer
A tow-bar is a light rigid rod, so car and trailer have the same acceleration and the tension is the same at both ends. A car of mass 1800 tows a trailer of mass 400, accelerating at 1.5. The trailer has resistance 100. Newton for the trailer: T minus 100 equals 400 times 1.5. For the engine's force F, use the whole system: F minus 250 minus 100 equals 2200 times 1.5. So F is 3650. Power is force times speed. At 20, that is 3650 times 20, which is 73 000 watts.
How often it comes up
How often Cambridge has asked each part, counted by ExamYard from every past paper in its question bank: Vehicle towing a trailer.
The whole chapter: Newton's Laws of Motion.
Chapter 4.4: Newton's laws of motion
- Particles connected by a string, over a pulley, and with a plane 6 min
- A car against a resistance, and motion on rough and smooth inclined planes 6 min
- A vehicle towing a trailer, vertical motion against a resistance, and a lift 6 min
Also for A Level Maths 9709 Paper 4
Which topics come up most in A Level Maths 9709 Paper 4 past papers, counted from every paper since 2004.