To determine the force exerted by the 7 kg bowling ball on the 4 kg bowling ball, we can use Newton's second law, which states that force equals mass times acceleration (\(F = ma\)).
Both bowling balls are accelerating in opposite directions at \(1.875 , \text{m/s}^2\):
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For the first ball (7 kg): \[ F_1 = m_1 \cdot a = 7 , \text{kg} \cdot 1.875 , \text{m/s}^2 = 13.125 , \text{N} , (\text{to the right}) \]
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For the second ball (4 kg): To calculate the force exerted by the first ball on the second ball (which will be equal in magnitude but opposite in direction due to action-reaction pairs), we consider the system as a whole.
However, since we want to know the force that the 7 kg bowling ball exerts on the 4 kg bowling ball, we recognize that it is this 13.125 N acting to the right that the 7 kg ball would exert on the 4 kg ball unless we specifically need to consider both balls’ individual accelerations affecting the collision separately, which isn't the case given that they are accelerating together.
Thus, the force exerted by the 7 kg bowling ball on the 4 kg bowling ball is:
13.125 N to the right.
So the correct response is:
13.125 N to the right.
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