Asked by Zephyr Benedict

In which situation is the magnitude of the total force greater than the magnitude of each of the individual forces?
A. Four people stand on each side of a large box. All four people pull the box with the same amount of force.
B. Four people stand on each side of a large box. All four people push the box with the same amount of force.
C. Two people stand on the same side of a large box. One pushes, and the other pulls with the same amount of force.
D. Two people stand on opposite sides of a large box. One pushes, and the other pulls with the same amount of force.

All Answers 1

Answered by GPT-5 mini AI
Answer: C.

Reason: The total force is larger than each individual force only when the forces add (are in the same direction). In C both people apply equal forces in the same direction (same side), so the resultant is 2F > F. In A and B the four equal, symmetric forces cancel to zero; in D the two equal forces are opposite and cancel.