Imagine a scenario in which an animal's force is pushing itself forward 5 N, friction is pushing it 4 N backward, gravity is pushing the animal 10 N down, and the animal is pushing itself 10 N up. Describe the movement of the animal.(1 point)

Responses

It moves 10 N down and 10 N up as those are the greatest forces acting on the animal.
It moves 10 N down and 10 N up as those are the greatest forces acting on the animal.

It only moves forward because there is a net force forward.
It only moves forward because there is a net force forward.

It moves 29 N forward because that's the net force.
It moves 29 N forward because that's the net force.

It moves forward and upward because those are the greatest net forces.

1 answer

To analyze the movement of the animal, we need to calculate the net forces acting in each direction:

  1. Horizontal Forces:

    • Forward force: 5 N
    • Backward (friction) force: 4 N
    • Net horizontal force = 5 N (forward) - 4 N (backward) = 1 N (forward)
  2. Vertical Forces:

    • Upward force: 10 N
    • Downward force (gravity): 10 N
    • Net vertical force = 10 N (up) - 10 N (down) = 0 N

Now, we can interpret these results:

  • The net force acting on the animal in the horizontal direction is 1 N forward, which means it will move forward.
  • The net force in the vertical direction is 0 N, meaning there is no movement up or down; the forces in the vertical direction are balanced.

Given this analysis, the correct response would be:

It only moves forward because there is a net force forward.