Question

A 500-N girl standing on a dock exerts a force of 100 N on a sailboat as she pushes it away from the dock. Describe the amount of force that the sailboat exerts on the girl.​

a) 400 N
b) 100 N
c) 500 N
d) 600 N

Answer 1

According to Newton's third law of motion, the sailboat exerts an equal and opposite force of 100 N on the girl, which is the same force she applies to the sailboat.

Step-by-step explanation:

The force that the sailboat exerts on the girl is equal to the force that the girl exerts on the sailboat, according to Newton's third law of motion, which states that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. In this case, since the girl exerts a force of 100 N on the sailboat, the sailboat exerts an equal and opposite force of 100 N back on the girl. So the correct answer to the question is b) 100 N.