Three Boxes Rest Side-By-Side on a Smooth, Horizontal Floor

question 21

Essay

Three boxes rest side-by-side on a smooth, horizontal floor. Their masses are 5.0-kg, 3.0-kg, and 2.0-kg, with the 3.0-kg mass in the center. A force of 50 N pushes on the 5.0-kg mass, which pushes against the other two masses.
(a) Draw the free-body diagrams for each of the masses.
(b) What is the contact force between the 5.0-kg mass and the 3.0-kg mass?
(c) What is the contact force between the 3.0-kg and the 2.0-kg mass?

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Definitions:

Glycoprotein

A protein with covalently attached carbohydrates

Golgi Stacks

A structure within the cell composed of a series of flattened membrane sacs involved in the modification, sorting, and packaging of proteins.

Surface Area

The total area of the external surface of a three-dimensional object.

Spherical Shape

Pertains to objects or entities having the shape of a sphere, which is perfectly round in three dimensions.