Question

A child pushes her toy across a level floor at a steady velocity of 0.50 m/s using an applied force of 2.0 N. If the weight of the toy is 8.0 N, what is the coefficient of sliding friction between the toy and the floor?
a. 0.25
b. 1.0
c. 4.0
d. 0.40

Answer 1

Always consider the forces involved in your situation and come up with an equation based on that. There is an applied force that pushes the toy forwards, and a frictional force that pushes the toy backwards. Because the toy is moving forward at a constant velocity, we know the net force must be 0; in other words, the applied force exactly balances the frictional force such that:

\[F_{app}=f_s\]\[F_{app}= \mu_sN\]\[2= \mu_s(8)\]\[\mu_s=0.25\]
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