A boy holds an apple.
Why doesn’t gravity cause the apple to fall to the ground?
A: the force of his hand pushes up on the apple with greater magnitude than the force of gravity, which pulls down the apple. The two forces are unbalanced, so the apple doesn’t fall.
B: the force of his hand pushes up on the apple with equal magnitude to the force of gravity, which pulls down on the apple. The two forces are balanced, so the apple doesn’t fall.
C: the force of his hand pushes up on the apple with equal magnitude to the force of gravity, which pulls down on the apple. The two forces are unbalanced, so the apple doesn’t fall.
D: the force of his hand pushes up on the apple with greater magnitude than the force of gravity, which pulls down on the apple. The two forces are balanced, so the apple doesn’t fall
D: the force of his hand pushes up on the apple with greater magnitude than the force of gravity, which pulls down on the apple. The two forces are balanced, so the apple doesn’t fall.
The correct answer is:
A: the force of his hand pushes up on the apple with greater magnitude than the force of gravity, which pulls down the apple. The two forces are unbalanced, so the apple doesn’t fall.
The correct answer is A: the force of his hand pushes up on the apple with greater magnitude than the force of gravity, which pulls down the apple. The two forces are unbalanced, so the apple doesn’t fall.
To understand why, let's break down the concept. Gravity is the force that pulls objects towards the center of the Earth. When an object, like an apple, is held in a person's hand, it doesn't fall to the ground because there is an opposing force exerted by the hand.
In this case, the boy's hand pushes up on the apple with a greater magnitude than the force of gravity pulling the apple downward. This creates an unbalanced force, where the force exerted by the boy's hand is stronger than the force of gravity.
It's important to note that if the force exerted by the boy's hand was equal to the force of gravity, the apple would remain in a state of equilibrium, meaning it wouldn't move up or down. This is described in option B, but it doesn't explain why the apple doesn't fall.
Therefore, option A correctly explains why the apple doesn't fall to the ground when the boy holds it.