High School

A tractor-trailer truck is traveling down the road. The mass of the trailer is 4 times the mass of the tractor. If the tractor accelerates forward, what is the force that the trailer applies on the tractor?

Answer :

Final answer:

The force that the trailer applies on the tractor is 4 times the force that the tractor applies on the trailer.

Explanation:

In this question, we are given that the mass of the trailer is 4 times the mass of the tractor. When the tractor accelerates forward, the force that the trailer applies on the tractor can be determined using Newton's Third Law of Motion.

According to Newton's Third Law, for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. So, the force exerted by the trailer on the tractor is equal in magnitude but opposite in direction to the force exerted by the tractor on the trailer.

Therefore, the force that the trailer applies on the tractor is equal to the force that the tractor applies on the trailer, which is given by the equation F = ma, where F is the force, m is the mass, and a is the acceleration of the tractor. As the mass of the trailer is 4 times the mass of the tractor, we can write the equation as:

F = (4m)a = 4(ma)

So, the force that the trailer applies on the tractor is 4 times the force that the tractor applies on the trailer.

Learn more about Newton's Third Law of Motion here:

https://brainly.com/question/974124

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