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A student slides a rock along the flat surface of a frozen pond. The rock starts to slow down after several seconds. Construct an explanation using Newton's Laws that describes why the rock begins to decelerate.

User Hannes Sachsenhofer
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1 Answer

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Answer:

When the student slides the rock along the flat surface of the frozen pond, according to Newton's second law of motion, the rock is given an initial velocity of motion. According to Newton's first law of motion, the rock will continue to slide indefinitely unless it is slowed or stopped by an opposite force. According to Newton's third law, the rock experiences a reaction force from the force of friction of the ice which slows it down at a rate given by Newton's second law of motion and the rock is seen to decelerate

Step-by-step explanation:

Newton's first law of motion, states that an object will remain at rest or maintain a uniform motion in a straight line, unless impressed upon by an external force

Newton's second law states that an applied force is equal to the rate of change of momentum it produces

Newton's third law states action and reaction are equal and opposite.

User Gprime
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