A farmhand does 972 J of work pulling an empty hay wagon along level ground with a force of 310 N [23 below the horizontal]. A frictional force of 280 N opposes the motion. The distance the wagon travels is
a. 0.39 m d. 32 m
b. 1.7 m e. 1.8  102 m
c. 3.4 m

Question

A farmhand does 972 J of work pulling an empty hay wagon along level ground with a force of 310 N [23 below the horizontal]. A frictional force of 280 N opposes the motion. The distance the wagon travels is
a.	0.39 m	d.	32 m
b.	1.7 m	e.	1.8  102 m
c.	3.4 m

anonymous · Answer

The force applied by the farmhand is F = 310N cos(theta)
Then use: Work = F * d
to find the distance

daenio · Answer

972J= 310Ncos31*d

daenio · Answer

I'm not sure how to do it after that.

daenio · Answer

@ten

anonymous · Answer

W = F d
d = W/F
Isn't your angle 23 degrees? I'm not picturing 'below the horizontal. Do you have a picture of where that angle is?

daenio · Answer

I do not.

anonymous · Answer

Do you understand:
d = W/F       that should give you your answer

daenio · Answer

BUT which W value?

daenio · Answer

There's 310 N [23 below the horizontal] and A frictional force of 280 N. :P 
Which one?

anonymous · Answer

W stands for work. It's the first thing given in the problem. 972J

anonymous · Answer

The frictional force just requires the farmer to exert more force to get the wagon to move. Only the force the farmer exerts determines how much work he does.