The Force Exerted by a Box on a Person

Understanding the Force Exerted by a Box on a Person

In the scenario depicted in the picture below, Jamal is shown pushing with a 100-Newton (N) force on a large box. Surprisingly, neither Jamal nor the box move when he applies this force to push the box. This leads to an interesting question: What force is the box applying on Jamal?

Answer:

100 newtons

Explanation:

Given the situation where Jamal is pushing a large box with a force of 100 N:

- The work done on the large box is 0 because it does not move.

- This is due to the fact that the applied force is less than the force of friction between the two surfaces.

- Despite the box not moving, there will still be a force exerted by the large box on Jamal.

- According to Newton's third law of motion, every action has an equal and opposite reaction. The reaction force is in the direction opposite to the action force, but the magnitude remains the same.

- Therefore, if the action force applied by Jamal is 100 N, the reaction force exerted by the box on Jamal will also be 100 N.