Newton's Third Law: Understanding Forces Between Compact Cars and Vans

[Tennisgrl]

Homework Statement

All small compact car is giving a push to a large van that has broken down and they travel along with equal velocities and accelerations. While the car is speeding up, is the force it exerts on the van larger than, smaller than, or the same magnitude as the force the van exerts on it? Which object, the car or the van has the largest net force on it, or are the net forces the same? Explain.

Homework Equations

no equations necessary? just Newton's Third Law

The Attempt at a Solution

I drew the free body diagrams for this with the force car on van and force van on car, but I'm not really understanding difference between equilibrium and Newton's 3rd Law

 

[Astronuc]

The van is being accelerated by the force imposed by the compact car. The inertia of the van results in force back on the car.

The car is accelerating at the same rate as the van, but the tractive force of the car (through wheels/tires) must accelerate the mass of the car and van.

 

[m2003]

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I can explain the concept of Newton's Third Law in this scenario. According to Newton's Third Law, for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. In this case, the compact car is exerting a force on the van, and the van is exerting an equal and opposite force on the car. This means that the magnitude of the force exerted by the car on the van is the same as the magnitude of the force exerted by the van on the car.

In terms of net force, both objects have the same net force on them. This is because the net force is the sum of all the forces acting on an object. In this scenario, the only forces acting on the car and the van are the forces exerted by each other, which are equal and opposite. Therefore, the net force on both objects is zero, and they will continue to travel with equal velocities and accelerations.

It is important to note that while the forces are equal and opposite, the effect of these forces may be different for each object due to their mass. As the car has less mass than the van, it will experience a greater acceleration due to the same amount of force being applied to it. This is in accordance with Newton's Second Law, which states that the acceleration of an object is directly proportional to the net force acting on it and inversely proportional to its mass.

In conclusion, in this scenario, the forces between the compact car and the van are equal and opposite, resulting in the same net force on both objects. This is a clear demonstration of Newton's Third Law and the relationship between forces, mass, and acceleration.