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Example: Holding a Block Against a Wall.
You hold a 3 kg metal block against a wall by applying a horizontal force of 40 N, as shown in the figure in representations. The coefficient of friction for the metal-wall pair of materials is 0.6 for both static friction and sliding friction. Does the block slip down the wall?
Facts
Lacking
Approximations & Assumptions
Representations
Solution
You need to identify whether the momentum in the y direction is negative (if it is, that would mean it was slipping down the wall).
Start by computing the change in momentum for both the x direction and the y direction.
$ x: \Delta p_x = (F_{head} - F_N) \Delta t = 0 $
$ y: \Delta p_y = (F_N - mg) \Delta t, \,\,assuming\, it\, slides $