A 230 kg steel crate is being pushed along a cement floor. The force of friction is 480 N to the left and the applied force is 1860 N to the right. The forces acting on the crate are __________________.
A. balanced
B. unbalanced
unbalanced
To determine if the forces acting on the crate are balanced or unbalanced, we need to consider the net force acting on the crate. The net force is the vector sum of all the forces acting on an object.
In this case, there are two forces acting on the crate: the force of friction and the applied force. The force of friction is 480 N to the left, and the applied force is 1860 N to the right.
To find the net force, we need to calculate the vector sum of these two forces. Since the force of friction is acting in the opposite direction of the applied force, we subtract the force of friction from the applied force:
Net force = Applied force - Force of friction
= 1860 N - 480 N
= 1380 N to the right
Since the net force is nonzero and directed to the right, we can conclude that the forces acting on the crate are unbalanced.