Ethan is helping his father rearrange the furniture in their living room. They have two different tables that are the same size. When Ethan pushes on each table, he finds that it is harder to move table A than it is to move table B. Why does Ethan have to push with more force on table A than on table B?

Question

a
Table A has more volume than table B.
b
Table A is less dense than table B
c
Table A weighs less than table B.
d
Table A has more mass than table B.

Answer 1

Ethan has to push with more force on table A than on table B because of option d: Table A has more mass than table B.

The greater mass of table A would mean it has more inertia, making it harder to move. According to Newton's first law of motion, an object at rest will stay at rest unless acted upon by a net external force. Therefore, a table with more mass requires a greater force to initiate movement compared to a table with less mass.