coefficient of friction, mass, and driving up a hill

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From: Debbie Berlin (debbie_berlin@yahoo.com)
Date: Tue Dec 18 2001 - 10:17:32 PST 

Message-ID: <20011218181732.45041.qmail@web11404.mail.yahoo.com>
Date: Tue, 18 Dec 2001 10:17:32 -0800 (PST)
From: Debbie Berlin <debbie_berlin@yahoo.com>
Subject: coefficient of friction, mass, and driving up a hill

I was asked why people are told by mechanics that, on
snowy days, they should put a lot of mass in the back
of their truck if they want to go up a slippery hill.
All simplified, high school physics problems show that
mass cancels out when finding acceleration due to
friction. How is this reconciled with real life? Is
it mass distribution that matters? Total mass? And
why?
Thank you for your help. This will help settle a
passionate lunch dispute!
--Debbie

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