A person pushes on a 54-kg refrigerator with a horizontal force of -276 N; the m

Question

A person pushes on a 54-kg refrigerator with a horizontal force of -276 N; the minus sign indicates that the force points in the ?x direction. The coefficient of static friction is 0.74.

(a) If the refrigerator does not move, what are the magnitude and direction of the static frictional force that the floor exerts on the refrigerator? Static frictional force =

(b) What is the magnitude of the largest pushing force that can be applied to the refrigerator before it just begins to move? Assume g = 9.81 m/s2. Magnitude of largest force =

Explanation / Answer

Since the refrigerator does not start moving, the net force is zero. Fnet = applied force + static frictional force You don't use the mass of the refrigerator or the coefficient of static friction for this question. If the person pushed harder, this data would be used to find at what value of applied force the static friction would finally yield and the refrigerator would move. Friction force magnitude = 54*9.81*0.74 = 392 N in the + direction Static Friction is used before an object moves. When it moves use kinetic friction coefficient.

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