Answer
(a) $23N$
(b) stay the same
Work Step by Step
(a) We can find the frictional force as follows:
$f_s=Tcos45^{\circ}$
and $Tsin45^{\circ}=m_bg$
This can be rearranged as:
$T=\frac{m_B g}{sin45^{\circ}}$
We plug in the known values to obtain:
$T=\frac{(2.33)(9.81)}{sin 45^{\circ}}$
$T=32.3N$
Now $f_s=Tcos45^{\circ}$
We plug in the known values to obtain:
$T=(32.3)(0.707)$
$T=23N$
(b) As $f_s=Tcso45^{\circ}$, this equation shows that the frictional force does not depend on the mass. Thus, the frictional force will stay the same.
