A boy holds a box steadily in the air. Which picture correctly shows the forces applied to the box?

Question

A. Force of gravity with an arrow pointing upward, force of boy's hands with an arrow pointing downwards

B. Force of gravity with an arrow pointing downward, force of boy's hands with an arrow also pointing downwards

C. Force of gravity with an arrow pointing downwards, force of boy's hands with an arrow pointing upwards

D. Force of gravity with an arrow pointing upward, force of boy's hands with an arrow also pointing upwards

Every picture shows the boy holding a box but each picture has two arrows pointing in different directions

Answer 1

In this scenario, the boy is holding the box steadily in the air. This means that the forces acting on the box are balanced.

1. The force of gravity acting on the box pulls it downward.
2. The force applied by the boy's hands must counteract the force of gravity, pushing upward on the box.

Given that, the correct representation of the forces on the box would show:

• The force of gravity with an arrow pointing downward (indicating the pull of gravity).
• The force of the boy's hands with an arrow pointing upward (indicating the support force that balances the weight).

Thus, the correct choice is:

C. Force of gravity with an arrow pointing downwards, force of boy's hands with an arrow upwards.