Question.
According to the third law of motion when we push on an object, the object pushes back on us with an equal and opposite force. If the object is a massive truck parked along the roadside, it will probably not move. A student justifies this by answering that the two opposite and equal forces cancel each other. Comment on this logic and explain why the truck does not move.
According to the third law of motion when we push on an object, the object pushes back on us with an equal and opposite force. If the object is a massive truck parked along the roadside, it will probably not move. A student justifies this by answering that the two opposite and equal forces cancel each other. Comment on this logic and explain why the truck does not move.
Solution:
When we push a massive truck parked along the roadside, it does not move. The justification given by the student that the two opposite and equal forces cancel each other is totally wrong. This is because forces of action and reaction never act on one body. There is no question of their cancellation. The truck does not move because the push applied is far less than the force of friction between the truck and the road. We also do not move because the force of reaction acting on us (due to pushing the truck) is less than force of friction between us and the road.
When we push a massive truck parked along the roadside, it does not move. The justification given by the student that the two opposite and equal forces cancel each other is totally wrong. This is because forces of action and reaction never act on one body. There is no question of their cancellation. The truck does not move because the push applied is far less than the force of friction between the truck and the road. We also do not move because the force of reaction acting on us (due to pushing the truck) is less than force of friction between us and the road.
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