The statement that best explains the result is: the forces have different magnitudes.
When two people push a box from opposite directions, if the box moves, it indicates that one of the forces applied is stronger than the other. The force with the greater magnitude overcomes the opposing force, resulting in the box moving in the direction of the stronger force.
While it is true that the box pushes back on the people due to Newton's third law (for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction), this does not directly explain the movement of the box itself. The assertion that push forces do not cause motion is also incorrect in this context, as the net force acting on the box (the difference between the two opposing forces) is what results in its motion.
2 answers