A book is pushed across the table by a student. The student stops pushing on the book and the book slows down and stops. The force stopping the book is a force known as
Answers are:
A: Inertia
B: Friction
C: Applied force
D: The action-reaction force
I would say friction.
I agree with John.
The force stopping the book is known as friction. Friction is a force that opposes the motion of an object when there is contact between the object and the surface it is moving on. It acts in the opposite direction to the motion of the object.
To understand how friction stops the book, let's break it down. When the student pushes the book, they apply a force in one direction. According to Newton's first law of motion, an object will continue to move in a straight line with a constant velocity unless acted upon by a net force. In this case, the net force is the force of friction acting on the book.
As the book slides across the table, the surface of the table exerts a force in the opposite direction due to friction. This force depends on the nature of the surfaces in contact and how strongly they are pressed together. As long as the pushing force applied by the student is greater than the force of friction, the book will continue to move. However, once the student stops pushing, the force of friction becomes the only force acting on the book.
The force of friction gradually slows down the book's motion until it eventually comes to a stop. In this situation, the force of friction is called kinetic friction because it acts on the book while it is in motion. Once the book has stopped, the force of friction changes to static friction. Static friction prevents the book from moving further unless another force is applied.
In conclusion, the force stopping the book's motion is friction, which opposes the motion by exerting an equal and opposite force on the book.