The photograph shows a water skier being pulled along by a boat - Edexcel - GCSE Physics - Question 3 - 2012 - Paper 1
Question 3
The photograph shows a water skier being pulled along by a boat.
The diagram shows the horizontal forces acting on the water skier.
(i) The 500 N force is the forc... show full transcript
Worked Solution & Example Answer:The photograph shows a water skier being pulled along by a boat - Edexcel - GCSE Physics - Question 3 - 2012 - Paper 1
Step 1
Suggest what causes the 300 N force.
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Answer
The 300 N force is likely caused by the force of water acting against the skier, commonly referred to as drag or air resistance. This force opposes the motion of the skier as they are being pulled along by the boat.
Step 2
Calculate the resultant of these two forces.
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Answer
To calculate the resultant force, we subtract the opposing force of 300 N from the pulling force of 500 N:
extResultantForce=500extN−300extN=200extN
Step 3
State the direction of the resultant of these two forces.
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Answer
The resultant force of 200 N is directed to the right, which is the direction the skier is travelling towards the boat.