Question

1. based on this scenario, what will happen to the left skater?

a. the left skater is the one that pushed the right skater and therefore will not move.
b. the left skater will accelerate at the same rate as their friend but in the opposite direction because of newtons third law.
c. the left skater will accelerate at a faster rate as their friend but in the opposite direction because of newtons third law.
d. the left skater will accelerate at a slower rate as their friend but in the opposite direction because of newtons third law.
two friends are skating in an ice rink together. they just learned about newtons third law and wanted to experiment with it. the friend on the left is 45 kg, and the friend on the right is 40 kg. the right skater gets pushed and moves with an acceleration of 2 m/s².

Explanation:

Step1: Calculate the force on the right - hand skater

According to Newton's second law \(F = ma\). For the right - hand skater, \(m = 40\space kg\) and \(a=2\space m/s^{2}\). So \(F = 40\times2=80\space N\).

Step2: Determine the force on the left - hand skater

By Newton's third law, the force on the left - hand skater \(F'=-F=- 80\space N\) (the negative sign indicates the opposite direction).

Step3: Calculate the acceleration of the left - hand skater

Using \(a=\frac{F}{m}\) again. For the left - hand skater, \(m = 45\space kg\) and \(F=-80\space N\). So \(a=\frac{-80}{45}\approx - 1.78\space m/s^{2}\)

Since the magnitude of the acceleration of the left - hand skater (\(\approx1.78\space m/s^{2}\)) is less than that of the right - hand skater (\(2\space m/s^{2}\)) and the directions are opposite.

Answer:

D. The left skater will accelerate at a slower rate as their friend but in the opposite direction because of Newton's Third Law.