Two people are trying to push a large box across a floor. Each person pushes with an equal amount of force. The total amount of force they exert on the box is 500 newtons. Despite their efforts, the box will not move. What is the amount of force exerted by the box on each person?

Question

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2 points
Captionless Image
0 newtons
250 newtons
500 newtons
1,500 newtons

Answer 1

If the box is not moving despite the effort of both people pushing it with a total force of 500 newtons, it means that the frictional force opposing their push is also equal to 500 newtons. According to Newton's third law of motion, the force exerted by the box on each person is equal but opposite in direction to the force exerted by each person on the box. Therefore, the amount of force exerted by the box on each person is 250 newtons.