Question

a cart full of packages weighing 180 pounds is rolling down a ramp 12 feet long at an incline of 25 degrees. the force of gravity is equal to the weight of the package. find the work done by gravity as the cart moves the lenght of the ramp. friction is not a factor

Answer 1

i have no idea what im doing, or if this lies under physics. need help. thanks

Answer 2

resolve the force from gravity into (1) a force pushing the cart into the incline and (2) another force at right angles ie acting in the same plane as the ramp. Force (2) is the one you want and and work = force * distance.

OR

calc the potential energy lost (mgh) and converted to kinetic energy by virtue of the cart descending the ramp.

either way you need to do a bit of trig but you have the 25deg angle to work with.

Answer 3

so how do i do that.....

Answer 4

like if someone typed out the equations and helped me step by step that would be great. like i said i have no idea what im doing.

Answer 5

Mmm. I'm not allowed to do it for you. I will get told off by the mods.

The attached schematic has everything you need to do this. I don't work with imperial so I am assuming that 12" is how you write 12 foot. Mea culpa if not.

Good luck.

Answer 6

thank you so much!

Answer 7

is g just 9.81

Answer 8

it is in metric - 9.81m/s^2

if you are using imperial, i assume that you need to keep to feet/inches and all that good stuff.