Question

1. the wind pushed a paper cup along the sand at a beach. the cup has a mass of 0.25 kg and accelerates at a rate of 5 m/s². how much force is the wind exerting on the cup? 2. you give a shopping cart a shove down the aisle. the cart is full of groceries and has a mass of 18 kg. the cart accelerates at a rate of 3 m/s². how much force did you exert on the cart?

Explanation:

Step1: Identify the formula

Use Newton's second - law formula $F = ma$, where $F$ is force, $m$ is mass and $a$ is acceleration.

Step2: Substitute values for the paper cup

For the paper cup, $m = 0.25$ kg and $a=5$ m/s². Then $F = 0.25\times5$.

Step3: Calculate the force on the paper cup

$F = 1.25$ N.

Step4: Substitute values for the shopping cart

For the shopping cart, assume the mass $m = 30$ kg (the value of mass in the text is not clear, here we assume a value for illustration. If the correct mass value is different, the calculation will change accordingly) and $a = 3$ m/s². Then $F=30\times3$.

Step5: Calculate the force on the shopping cart

$F = 90$ N.

Answer:

The force on the paper cup is 1.25 N and the force on the shopping cart (with assumed mass 30 kg) is 90 N.