Halliday, Resnick & Walker — Force and Motion–II: Problem 83

You must push a crate across a floor to a docking bay. The crate weighs 165 N. The coefficient of static friction between crate and floor is 0.510, and the coefficient of kinetic friction is 0.32. Your force on the crate is directed horizontally. (a) What magnitude of your push puts the crate on the verge of sliding? (b) With what magnitude must you then push to keep the crate moving at a constant velocity? (c) If, instead, you then push with the same magnitude as the answer to (a), what is the magnitude of the crate’s acceleration?