Problem 3: Pushing a Box over a Frictionless Floor
Two people are moving a box across a floor, as shown in the figure below. The first ties a rope to the box and pulls with a force F_pull, with a magnitude of 65 N at an angle of 37° from the negative x-axis. The second pushes with a force F_push, with a magnitude of 82 N at an angle of 23° from the negative x-axis. The mass of the box is 25 kg, and there is no friction between the block and the floor.
A. On the diagram, draw and label a free-body diagram for the box. Make sure the lengths of the vectors representing each force are qualitatively correct.
B. Determine the x- and y-components of the forces by the two people, F_pull and F_push.
C. Determine the magnitude and the direction of the normal force exerted on the box by the floor.
D. Determine the magnitude and direction of the acceleration of the box.