Determine the maximum acceleration of a train in which a box lying on its floor will remain stationa

Question

Determine the maximum acceleration of a train in which a box lying on its floor will remain stationary, given that the co-efficient of static friction between the box and the train's floor is 0.15. (Take g = 10 m/s²)

Professor PC Thomas Classes · Answer

The acceleration of the box is provided by static friction. $ma = f_s \le \mu_s mg \implies a \le \mu_s g$. The maximum acceleration is $a_{max} = 0.15 	imes 10 = 1.5$ m/s².