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brewAP2010
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Homework Statement
If a man pulls forward on a sled, and the sled pulls backward on the man with an equal amount of force, how can the man and sled move at all?
brewAP2010 said:If a man pulls forward on a sled, and the sled pulls backward on the man with an equal amount of force, how can the man and sled move at all?
Newton's Third Law states that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. This means that when one object exerts a force on another object, the second object will exert an equal force in the opposite direction on the first object.
In the Man & Sled Puzzle, the man exerts a force on the sled by pushing against it, and the sled exerts an equal and opposite force on the man. This allows the man to move the sled forward.
The force exerted by the man on the sled is affected by the mass of the man, the strength of the man's push, and the friction between the man's feet and the ground.
Yes, the man and sled can move at different speeds even though they are connected by the same force. This is because the mass of the man and sled are different, and therefore their accelerations will also be different.
Newton's Third Law helps us understand motion by demonstrating that forces always occur in pairs and act in opposite directions. This means that in order for an object to move, there must be an external force acting on it. It also helps us understand that every action has an equal and opposite reaction, which allows us to predict how objects will move and interact with each other.