Halliday, Resnick & Walker — Force and Motion–II: Problem 20_M_GO

In Fig. 6.16, a box of Cheerios (mass \( m_C = 1.0 \text{ kg} \)) and a box of Wheaties (mass \( m_W = 3.0 \text{ kg} \)) are accelerated across a horizontal surface by a horizontal force \( \vec{F} \) applied to the Cheerios box. The magnitude of the frictional force on the Cheerios box is \( 2.0 \text{ N} \), and the magnitude of the frictional force on the Wheaties box is \( 4.0 \text{ N} \). If the magnitude of \( \vec{F} \) is \( 12 \text{ N} \), what is the magnitude of the force on the Wheaties box from the Cheerios box?