Thread: Velocity

Cleo, a motorcyclist, takes off from rest and reaches 17m/s in 4 s. If the mass of Cleo's bike+Cleo is 190kg, what unbalanced force is needed to produce this acceleration?

Can anyone post a basic formula of equations that would help me come to a proper understanding of this? would it be m/s.s or what?

Newton's 2nd Law: The acceleration of an object is directly proportional to the net external force acting on the object and inversely proportional to the object’s mass.

Definition of acceleration: the rate of change of velocity. a_avg = (Delta v)/(Delta t)

Given:
vi = 0 } He started from rest
ti = 0 } ,, ,, ,, ,,

vf = 17 m/s
tf = 4 s

m = 190 kg
a = ?
F = ?

Solution:
To find the force, we need the mass and acceleration. We already got the mass, and now we're going to find the acceleration:
a_avg = (vf - vi)/(tf-ti) = (17-0)(4-0) = 4.25 m/s

Now, plug in:

F = ma = (190)(4.25) = 807.5 N