Thread: Friction problem

A shopper picks up a 2kg packet of pasta with the thumb and index finger of one hand. The coef of friction between his fingers and the wrapping is 0.3. What horizontal force must he exert to prevent the packet from slipping?

2sin30*0.3 ( angle betweenfingers and wrapping) not sure help me out

Originally Posted by mysur

A shopper picks up a 2kg packet of pasta with the thumb and index finger of one hand. The coef of friction between his fingers and the wrapping is 0.3. What horizontal force must he exert to prevent the packet from slipping?

2sin30*0.3 ( angle betweenfingers and wrapping) not sure help me out

The gravity pulls on the packet with a force equal to

F = mg => F = 2*10 = 20 N

The friction needs to be as large as the gravitational force, so that the packet won't move anywhere. The force by the friction is proportional to the normal force by the factor of coef of friction. That we have

F = μN <=> N = F/μ => N = 20/0.3 ≈ 67 N or with correct significant figures 0.07 kN.

Thank you very mcuh for the detail explanation and your time.

But the answer given is 32.7N , p,ease help me out

You have 2 normal contact forces so the frictional force will be directly proportional to 2N

F=0.3(2N) => N= 20/0.6 => N= 33.3 Nff.bmp