Magnitude of force during a tug of war

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SUMMARY

The discussion centers on the physics of a tug of war scenario between two individuals of different sizes, specifically focusing on the forces exerted by each participant. According to Newton's Third Law of Motion, for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction, meaning the force exerted by the larger individual is equal in magnitude to the force exerted by the smaller individual, despite their size difference. The conclusion is that both participants exert the same magnitude of force on each other, resulting in a standoff when neither moves.

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so u have a tug of war with your little sister who is lighter and smaller that you. You both pull hard but at the end in a standoff with neither of you moving much. Compare magnitude o the force you exert on your sister with the magnitude of the force she exerts on you. Are the different or same? if the are not the same which is larger? why or why not?


Ok I would say that the force exerted by you is greater than the the force exerted by the little girl however it says that at the end nither one wins so that would mean that you both exert the same magnitude on each other right? can someone explain
 
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Hi bmandrade! :smile:

(assume that neither you nor your sister moves at all)

Questions like this can always be solved by using Newton's three laws.

So … what are Newton's three laws, and which one do you think will help here? :smile:
 

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