Question

a boy pushes against a heavy boulder. the boulder does not move, and an equal amount of force pushes back against the boys hands. what is true about the forces described in the scenario shown? the forces are balanced, resulting in no motion. the forces are unbalanced, resulting in motion. it is impossible to determine whether the forces are balanced.

Explanation:

When forces are balanced, there is no change in motion. In this case, the boy pushes the boulder and an equal force pushes back (as per Newton's third law). Since the boulder does not move, the net force is zero. Unbalanced forces would cause motion (by Newton's second law \(F = ma\), if \(F
eq0\), \(a
eq0\)). Here, since there's no motion (\(a = 0\)), forces must be balanced.

Answer:

The forces are balanced, resulting in no motion.