Four students push on a block of wood with the forces shown in the diagram below. Assume friction is negligible. (The block has 18 N from the left and 7 N to the right)
What is the net force acting on the block? Are the forces balanced or unbalanced? How will the block move?
A. The net force on the block is 11 N. The forces are balanced. The block will move to the right.
B. The net force on the block is 11 N. The forces are unbalanced. The block will move to the left.
C. The net force on the block is 25 N. The forces are balanced. The block will move to the right.
D. The net force on the block is 25 N. The forces are unbalanced. The block will move to the right.
E. The net force on the block 11 N. The forces are balanced. The block will move to the left.
F. The net force on the block is 25 N. The forces are unbalanced. The block will move to the left.
G. The net force on the block is 25 N. The forces are balanced. The block will move to the left.
H. The net force on the block is 11 N. The forces are unbalanced. The block will move to the right.
The net force acting on the block can be found by subtracting the force to the right (7 N) from the force to the left (18 N). This gives a net force of 11 N to the left.
Since there is a net force acting on the block, the forces are unbalanced.
According to Newton's second law of motion, an object will accelerate in the direction of the net force. In this case, since the net force is to the left, the block will move to the left.
Therefore, the correct answer is:
B. The net force on the block is 11 N. The forces are unbalanced. The block will move to the left.