Heidi and James are carrying loads of trash to the dump. They are walking down the sidewalk, side by side but James begins to lag behind Heidi. Explain what’s happening using one of Newton’s Laws of Motion.

Question

Newton’s 2nd law. James is pulling the heavier load. He needs a greater force to move as fast as Heidi.

Newton’s 2nd law. Heidi and James are pulling the loads with unequal forces
Newton’s 3rd Law. for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. James’s action is not enough to move as fast as Heidi.
Newton’s 1st Law. Jame’s wagon and load will not move unless he exerts a force on it.

Answer 1

Newton’s 2nd law can be used to explain the situation. According to this law, the acceleration of an object is directly proportional to the net force acting on it and inversely proportional to its mass. In this case, James is pulling a heavier load compared to Heidi. This means that James needs to exert a greater force to move at the same speed as Heidi, who is pulling a lighter load. Therefore, James begins to lag behind Heidi because he is pulling a heavier load that requires a greater force to accelerate and maintain the same speed as Heidi.