Question

In which situation is the magnitude of the total force greater than the magnitude of each of the individual forces?

A. Two people stand on opposite sides of a large box. One pushes, and the other pulls with the same amount of force.

B. Four people stand on each side of a large box. All four people pull with the box with the same amount of force.

C. Two people stand on the same side of the part box. One pushes, and the other pulls with the same amount of force.

D. Four people stand on each side of the a large box. All four people push the box with the same amount of force.

Answer 1

C.

When forces act in the same direction their magnitudes add. In option C both people apply forces in the same direction on the same side, so the total force is 2F, which is larger than each individual force F. The other options have opposing or symmetrically arranged forces that cancel.