Jeremy B. answered • 03/07/21
Life Science Enthusiast and Experienced Teacher
This question makes use of the basic equation for a force: F = ma.
F= force
m= mass
a= acceleration
We know from the question that we are solving for acceleration, so we can say
a=?
The other numbers can be assigned to the other parts of the equation like this:
m= 2500 kg (mass of the truck)
F= 4,200 N (the unit N is a Newton, which is the standard unit of force. It can be translated as meaning (kg•m)/s2 when expanded).
Since each of these is in proper MKS units, we can skip the unit conversion stage and go straight into manipulating the equation to solve for acceleration.
F=ma → F/m=a
4,200 N/2,500 kg →(4,200 kg·m/s2)/2,500 kg= 1.68 m/s2 = a
To make sure our answer is just as precise as it can be (based upon the numbers we were given), we check significant digits and find that both 4,200 and 2,500 are only 2 sigfigs of precision. This means we must round our answer to just two sigfigs.
1.68 m/s2 →1.7m/s2
So this then shows that the answer is that the acceleration of the truck of that mass under that level of force is 1.7 m/s2
