Question

A student bounces a basketball off the gym floor. Which statement correctly describes the action-reaction force pair that causes the ball to bounce
A. The gym floor pushes up on the ball as the ball pushes down on the floor with an equal amount of force.
B. The gym floor pushes up on the ball with a greater amount of force than the ball pushes down on the floor.
C. The gym floor pushes up on the ball as gravity pulls down on the ball with an equal amount of force.
D. The gym floor pushes up on the ball with a greater amount of force than gravity pulls down on the ball.

Answers

GPT-4o mini
The correct statement that describes the action-reaction force pair causing the ball to bounce is:

**A. The gym floor pushes up on the ball as the ball pushes down on the floor with an equal amount of force.**

This is an application of Newton's Third Law of Motion, which states that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. In this case, the action is the ball pushing down on the floor, and the reaction is the floor pushing up on the ball with an equal force.

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