A student is in a shopping cart and is being push on a track. The student and the cart have a total mass of 77 kg and they are accelerating at 1.6 m/s2.

Question

What is the force being applied to the cart? Show your work. 

Answer 1

This uses Newton's second law of motion F = ma

Lets assume there is no kinetic or static friction opposing the force of the student.

Since the track is flat, there will be no gravitational force leading to a normal force affecting the shopping cart in the x-plane direction.

F = 77kg*1.6m/s^2 = 123.2N

Answer 2

F=MA = 77 kg x 1.6 m/s^2 = 123.2 Newtons