If a 2kg object moving at 12ms slows to a halt after moving 144m, what is the coefficient of kinetic friction of the surface that the object was moving over?

1 Answer
Jul 2, 2016

μs=0.05

Explanation:

So, given than the object was moving with a speed of 12ms

We'll use the third kinematic equation to solve this.

The third kinematic equation is
v2f=v2o+2ax
So, vo=12ms and vf=0ms, x=144m

So, 02=122+2a144144=1442a

Simple cancellation and rearranging gives us 12ms2=a
It's reasonable to realize why it's negative since the acceleration is decreasing rather than increasing the velocity of the object. But we'll drop the symbol knowing that friction is invariant of direction for further solving.

Now, we know the effective acceleration of the object. We also know that the effective acceleration of an object while travelling over a friction surface is μsg

So, equating the two, and taking g=10ms2, we get μs10=12.

Rearranging gives you what you now see in the answer box.