Two students are pushing a cart, as shown below.

Question

What is the net force acting on the cart?

a
50 N to the left
b
150 N to the right
c
50 N to the right
d
150 N to the left
e
350 N to the right
f
200 N to the right
g
350 N to the left
h
200 N to the left

Answer 1

The net force acting on the cart is 100 N to the left.

To find the net force, we need to add up the individual forces acting on the cart. In this case, there are two forces:

1. One student is pushing the cart with a force of 150 N to the right.
2. Another student is pushing the cart with a force of 250 N to the left.

To find the net force, we subtract the force in the opposite direction from the force in the desired direction. In this case, 250 N - 150 N = 100 N.

Therefore, the net force acting on the cart is 100 N to the left. Answer choice a) "50 N to the left" is incorrect.