A book is resting on a table in a state of equilibrium. Which statement is true about the forces acting on the book? (1 point)
Responses
The book experiences unbalanced forces because the force of gravity pulling down on the book and the force of the table pushing up are equal.
The book experiences unbalanced forces because the force of gravity pulling down on the book and the force of the table pushing up are equal.
The force of gravity pulling down the book and the force of the table pushing up on the book are equal.
The force of gravity pulling down the book and the force of the table pushing up on the book are equal.
The book experiences balanced forces because the force of gravity pushing down on the book is greater.
The book experiences balanced forces because the force of gravity pushing down on the book is greater.
The book experiences unbalanced forces from friction, gravity and the table.
The book experiences balanced forces because the force of gravity pulling down on the book and the force of the table pushing up are equal.
The force of gravity pulling down on the book and the force of the table pushing up on the book are equal.
The correct statement is: The force of gravity pulling down on the book and the force of the table pushing up on the book are equal.
To understand why this is true, let's look at the concept of equilibrium. Equilibrium means that an object is not accelerating, which implies that the net force acting on it is zero. In this case, since the book is at rest on the table, it is in equilibrium.
The only two forces acting on the book in this scenario are the force of gravity pulling it downward and the force of the table pushing it upward. According to Newton's third law of motion, these two forces are an action-reaction pair and have the same magnitude but opposite directions.
The force of gravity is pulling the book down with a force equal to its weight. The force of the table, often called the normal force, is exerted perpendicular to the surface of the table and is equal in magnitude but opposite in direction to the force of gravity.
These two forces are balanced and cancel each other out, resulting in a net force of zero. Therefore, the correct statement is that the force of gravity pulling down the book and the force of the table pushing up on the book are equal.