A child pushes a desk with a force of 15 N to the right. The desk accelerates to the right. Which of the following statements correctly represents Newton’s third law and the interaction between the child and desk?
Responses
The desk exerted slightly more than 15 N of force on the child, but the force is directed to the left.
The desk exerted slightly more than 15 N of force on the child, but the force is directed to the left.
The desk exerted exactly 15 N of force on the child, but the force is directed to the left.
The desk exerted exactly 15 N of force on the child, but the force is directed to the left.
The desk did not exert any force on the child.
The desk exerted slightly less than 15 N of force on the child, but the force is directed to the left.
None of the above statements correctly represent Newton's third law and the interaction between the child and desk. According to Newton's third law, for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. In this case, the child's force of 15 N pushing to the right is the action, and the reaction is the desk's force of 15 N pushing back to the left on the child. Therefore, the correct statement is as follows:
The desk exerted an equal and opposite force of 15 N on the child, directed to the left, in accordance with Newton's third law.
it has to be one of them
In that case, the statement that is closest to an accurate representation of Newton's third law is:
The desk exerted slightly less than 15 N of force on the child, but the force is directed to the left. This is because the child exerted a force of 15 N to the right, and according to Newton's third law, the desk exerted an equal and opposite force of slightly less than 15 N to the left on the child.
wouldnt it be The desk exerted exactly 15 N of force on the child, but the force is directed to the left.
No, it would not be "The desk exerted exactly 15 N of force on the child, but the force is directed to the left." This statement is incorrect because it assumes that the desk exerts exactly the same amount of force on the child that the child exerts on the desk, which is generally not true in real-world situations due to friction and other factors.
Furthermore, the statement implies that the force exerted by the desk is in the same direction as the force applied by the child, which is also incorrect. According to Newton's third law, a pair of interacting objects will experience an equal and opposite force exerted on each object in the opposite direction. Therefore, the desk is exerting a 15 N force to the left on the child (opposite direction of the child's push) for a correct representation of Newton's third law.
The correct response is:
The desk exerted exactly 15 N of force on the child, but the force is directed to the left.
Newton's third law states that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. In this case, the child exerts a force of 15 N to the right on the desk. According to Newton's third law, the desk will exert an equal force back on the child, but in the opposite direction.
So, the correct statement that represents Newton's third law and the interaction between the child and desk in this scenario is:
The desk exerted exactly 15 N of force on the child, but the force is directed to the left.