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.
1. It moves forward and upward because those are the greatest net forces.
2. It moves 10 N down and 10 N up as those are the greatest forces acting on the animal.
3. It only moves forward because there is a net force forward.
4. t moves 29 N forward because that's the net force.
The correct answer is 3. It only moves forward because there is a net force forward.
In this scenario, the animal experiences four forces: a forward force of 5 N, a backward force of 4 N due to friction, a downward force of 10 N due to gravity, and an upward force of 10 N that the animal is exerting on itself.
To determine the net force acting on the animal, we subtract the forces acting in the opposite direction. Therefore, the net force acting on the animal is (5 N forward) - (4 N backward) = 1 N forward.
Since there is a net force of 1 N pushing the animal forward and no other significant opposing forces acting on it, the animal will move forward.