Finals week has ended at IOU, and Finagle J. Wurme and his three roommies are in town in his ‘59 Fury for the big Friday night cruise. One after another the freshly polished automobiles rumble down Main Street, calling for attention from revelers lining the avenue. When it's Wurme's turn, he honks the horn and revs the engine wildly, flooding the carburetor and stalling his car.
The embarrassed Wurme works feverishly to restart his trusty Plymouth, but a dying battery and the shouts of agitated drivers force him to give up the fight. Admitting defeat, Wurme gives the signal for his buds to get out and push.
If the four men move the 3,505-lb vehicle 750 ft at 4 mph, how much work do they do in the process, and how much force does each apply if they equally share the load? Assume all forces are applied horizontally and neglect friction.
Send in solutions by February 16, 2006
Win a TI calculator
The winner of this month's problem receives a graphing calculator from Texas Instruments, Dallas, Tex. The TI-89 Titanium contains a built-in USB port with cable for convenient data transfer. For additional information, call 1-800-TI-CARES or visit TI's website at www.ti.com.
TI-89 Titanium FEATURES
- Calculates derivatives, integrals, limits, max/min, sequences, and series
- Three times the Flash memory of TI-89
- 16 preloaded graphing calculator software applications, including EE Pro, CellSheet, and NoteFolio
- Preloaded with official AP Calculus exam review questions