Imagine a scenario in which an animal's force is pushing itself forward 5 N, friction is pushing it 4 N backward, gravity is pushing the animal 10 N down, and the animal is pushing itself 10 N up. Describe the movement of the animal.
it only moves forward because there is net force forward.
it moves 29 N forward because that's the net force.
it moves forward and upward because those are the greatest net forces.
it moves 10 N down and 10 N up as those are the greatest forces acting on the animal.
In this scenario, the animal experiences multiple forces acting on it in different directions. The force pushing the animal forward with a magnitude of 5 N is opposed by the frictional force pushing it backward with a magnitude of 4 N. Additionally, the force of gravity is acting downward with a magnitude of 10 N, while the animal is pushing itself upward with a force of 10 N.
To determine the overall movement of the animal, we need to consider the net force acting on it. Net force is the vector sum of all the forces acting on an object. In this case, the net force is calculated by adding up all the forces in each direction.
The net force in the forward direction is obtained by subtracting the frictional force (4 N) from the force pushing the animal forward (5 N). Therefore, the net force in the forward direction is 5 N - 4 N = 1 N.
The net force in the vertical direction is obtained by subtracting the force of gravity (10 N) from the upward force exerted by the animal (10 N). Both forces cancel each other out, resulting in a net force of 0 N in the vertical direction.
Since the net force in the forward direction is 1 N and there is no net force in the vertical direction, the animal will only move forward. The animal's movement will be in the direction of the net force, with a magnitude of 1 N.