Jessica's weight is 540 Newtons. According to the Third Law, if the Earth pulls on Jessica with a force of 540 N, then Jessica pulls on the Earth with a force of 540 Newtons that acts in the opposite direction. However, if Jessica stumbles while rollerblading, she will fall down to the ground. Explain why this happens.
When Jessica stumbles while rollerblading and falls down to the ground, it happens because the force she exerts on the Earth is not enough to overcome the force that the Earth exerts on her. While it is true that according to Newton's third law, if the Earth pulls on Jessica with a force of 540 Newtons, she also pulls on the Earth with a force of 540 Newtons in the opposite direction, these forces cancel each other out only in terms of their magnitude.
However, the Earth is significantly more massive than Jessica, which means it exerts a much larger force on her compared to the force she exerts on the Earth. This force is commonly referred to as the force of gravity, which is responsible for keeping us grounded.
When Jessica stumbles, her feet no longer make contact with the ground, reducing the frictional force between her and the Earth. Without this opposing force, the force of gravity becomes unbalanced and unable to be counteracted by Jessica's ability to exert a force on the Earth. As a result, gravity pulls Jessica downward, causing her to lose balance and fall towards the ground.
Not exactly. Since each has the same force, the acceleration of each (she goes toward Earth, Earth moves toward her). acceleration=540/mass
in the case of her movement, mass is her mass.
in the case of the Earth'smomemvent, mass is the Earth's mass
So the acceleration of the Earth, then is very small. But both fall toward each other.