A student on roller blades traveling south with a force of 100 N collides with another student on roller blades traveling north with a force of 200 N. The net force is -100 N, but which student will go backwards? Why?
To determine which student will go backwards, we need to analyze the forces acting on each student and consider Newton's third law of motion.
Newton's third law states that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. In this case, when the first student exerts a force of 100 N to the south, the second student exerts a force of 200 N to the north. These forces are action-reaction pairs.
Now, let's analyze the net force acting on each student. Net force is the vector sum of all the forces acting on an object. Since both students are on roller blades, we can assume there are no other significant forces acting on them except for the forces they apply to each other.
For the first student, the net force is the force applied by the second student (200 N) minus the force applied by themselves (100 N). Therefore, the net force on the first student is 200 N - 100 N = 100 N to the north.
For the second student, the net force is the force applied by the first student (100 N) minus the force applied by themselves (200 N). Therefore, the net force on the second student is 100 N - 200 N = -100 N to the south.
As a result, the second student will go backwards (southward) because the net force acting on them is in the opposite direction of their initial motion (northward).