An SUV's engine provides 3500 N of force for a vehicle that has a mass 2000 kg. If an engineer develops a new chassis for the SUV that is two times the mass, what is the acceleration of the vehicle with the new chassis?
To find the acceleration of the vehicle with the new chassis, we can use Newton's second law of motion, which states that force is equal to mass multiplied by acceleration (F = ma).
We know that the engine provides a force of 3500 N and the previous mass of the SUV is 2000 kg. Therefore, the previous acceleration is given by:
3500 N = 2000 kg * a
Rearranging the equation gives:
a = 3500 N / 2000 kg
a = 1.75 m/s²
Now, if the new chassis is two times the mass of the previous chassis, the new mass becomes 2 * 2000 kg = 4000 kg.
Using the same equation and the new mass, the new acceleration is calculated as:
3500 N = 4000 kg * a
Rearranging and solving for a gives:
a = 3500 N / 4000 kg
a = 0.875 m/s²
Therefore, the acceleration of the vehicle with the new chassis is 0.875 m/s².