The Force on Each Wagon of a Train Moving with Constant Velocity

What is the force acting on each wagon of a train moving with constant velocity?

A train of 10 wagons moves with a constant velocity of 40 m/s. The mass of each wagon is 1000 kg. What is the force on each wagon?

Answer:

The force on each wagon of a train moving with constant velocity is zero because there is no acceleration, and therefore, no net force is required to maintain the constant velocity according to Newton's first law of motion.

When a train moves with a constant velocity, the force on each wagon is considered to be zero. This is due to the principle outlined in Newton's first law of motion, which states that an object will remain at rest or continue to move at a constant velocity unless acted upon by a net external force.

With the train moving at a constant velocity of 40 m/s, there is no acceleration present. As a result, there is no need for a net force to be applied to maintain the speed. Each wagon on the train, being part of the system moving at a constant velocity, experiences zero force. This concept aligns with the fundamental idea that an object's motion will not change unless an external force is applied to it.

In scenarios where acceleration or deceleration is involved, the force acting on each wagon could be calculated using the train's mass and the acceleration or deceleration rate. However, for a train moving with a constant velocity, the force on each wagon remains zero.