Question

Difficulty: EasyNewton's Third Law (Action/Reaction)

When a person pushes forward against a stalled car to move it, the force the person exerts on the car is greater than the force the car exerts backward on the person.

Answer: Answer

Answer

False
The statement is false because Newton's Third Law states that the mutual forces of action and reaction between two interacting bodies are always equal in magnitude and opposite in direction. The person and the car exert exactly equal forces on each other.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the two interacting objects in the given scenario.
The two interacting objects are the person pushing and the stalled car.
Newton's Third Law describes the mutual forces between two interacting bodies.
2
Determine the action and reaction forces occurring between the objects.
The action force is the person pushing forward on the car. The reaction force is the car pushing backward against the person's hands.
Identifying the specific action-reaction pair is necessary to evaluate their magnitudes.
3
Apply Newton's Third Law to compare the magnitudes of the two forces.
Newton's Third Law dictates that these two forces must be equal in magnitude and opposite in direction.
Because the forces must be equal, the statement claiming the person's force is greater is false.

Key Concept

Newton's Third Law (Action/Reaction)
Estimated Time:45s
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