4. The physics class is having a tug of war – the men against the women. For a long time the two teams are pulling with equal force and the knot in the centre of the rope isn’t going anywhere. But then one boy sneezes and stops pulling as hard for just a few seconds. Of course, he quickly recovers, and then pulling with equal strength once again. Who wins the tug of war based on this information? Apply Newton’s law correctly to explain why that is the case.

To determine who wins the tug of war based on the given information and applying Newton's laws correctly, we need to consider the concept of net force.

Newton's first law of motion states that an object at rest stays at rest and an object in motion stays in motion with the same speed and in the same direction unless acted upon by an unbalanced force. In this case, the two teams pulling with equal force on the rope exerts a balanced force, resulting in no net force.

However, when one boy sneezes and momentarily reduces his pulling force, there is a slight imbalance in the forces. The team with the greater force will now have an advantage, giving them a net force in their direction.

According to Newton's second law of motion, the net force acting on an object is equal to the mass of the object multiplied by its acceleration. In this scenario, the net force becomes unbalanced, causing the team with the greater force to accelerate slightly in their direction.

Therefore, in this tug of war situation, the team whose force momentarily exceeds the other team's force due to the boy's reduced pulling force will be the one to win.

It is important to note that the information provided is insufficient to determine precisely which team wins, as we don't know the specific magnitudes of the forces exerted by each team.