A man is holding a apple in his hand.
Why doesn't gravity cause the apple to fall to the ground?
(1 point)
A. 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.
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 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 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.
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.
The correct answer is 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.
To understand why the apple doesn't fall, we need to know about the concept of forces. Gravity is a force that pulls objects toward the center of the Earth. When you hold an apple in your hand, you are applying a force on it in the opposite direction, pushing it upward. This force is called the "normal force."
For an object to remain at rest (or in this case, not fall), the forces acting on it must be balanced. In this scenario, we have two forces: the force of gravity pulling down on the apple and the normal force pushing up on it. These forces have the same magnitude (or strength), but they act in opposite directions. Since they are balanced, the apple remains in the person's hand.
If the upward force applied by the hand were greater than the force of gravity, the forces would be unbalanced, and the apple would accelerate upward. However, in this case, the forces are equal and opposite, resulting in a balanced condition where the apple remains stationary in the person's hand.
Therefore, the correct answer is 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.