If the force of friction always opposes the sliding of an object, how then can a friction force cause an object to accelerate in the direction of the motion?

Acoal-fired plant generates 600 mw of electric power. the plant uses 4.8 x 10^6 kg of coal each day, and the heat of combustion of coal is 3.3x 10^7 j/kg. the steam that drives the turbines is at a temperature of 300° c, and the exhaust water is at 37° c. (a) what is the overall efficiency of the plant for generating electric power? (b) how much thermal energy is exhausted each day? (c) what is the change in entropy of the universe for this heat engine? (d) using the same heat reservoirs, what is the maximum possible (carnot) efficiency for a heat engine?

The vapour pressure of benzene is 53.3 kpa at 60.6 °c, but it fell to 51.5 kpa when 19.0 g of a non-volatile organic compound was dissolved in 500 g of benzene. calculate the molar mass of the compound.

Ablock of mass m = 2.5 kg is attached to a spring with spring constant k = 740 n/m. it is initially at rest on an inclined plane that is at an angle of theta= 26 with respect to the horizontal, and the coefficient of kinetic friction between the block and the plane is uk = 0.17. in the initial position, where the spring is compressed by a distance of d = 0.16 m, the mass is at its lowest position and the spring is compressed the maximum amount. take the initial gravitational energy of the block as zero. the block's initial mechanical energy is 9.472 j.b. if the spring pushes the block up the incline, what distance l in meters will the block travel before coming to rest? the spring remains attached to both the block and the fixed wall throughout its motion.