To determine in which situation the magnitude of the total force is greater than the magnitude of each of the individual forces, we need to analyze the scenarios:
a. Two people stand on opposite sides of a large box. One pushes, and the other pulls with the same amount of force.
- In this case, the forces are in opposite directions and will cancel each other out. The net force could be zero or the net force would equal the difference in forces if they were unequal. However, since they are equal, the total force would be zero.
b. Two people stand on the same side of a large box. One pushes, and the other pulls with the same amount of force.
- Here, both forces act in the same direction (push and pull work together). The total force will be the sum of the two forces, which would be greater than either force individually.
c. Four people stand on each side of a large box. All four people pull the box with the same amount of force.
- In this case, since the pulls are opposing, they will cancel out, so the net force on the box will be zero.
d. Four people stand on each side of a large box. All four people push the box with the same amount of force.
- Similar to option "c," if the pushes are opposite, they would cancel out. However, if they all push in the same direction (which is not specified), then the total force would be the sum of the four forces on that side, yielding a total force greater than the individual forces.
The key here is understanding that for two people on the same side (option b) pushing and pulling together results in a total force greater than either individual force given they are aligned in the same direction.
Answer: B (two people on the same side, one pushes, one pulls with same force).