Question

If, simultaneously, a fridge is pushed to the right with a force of 25 N and pushed to the left with a force of 40 N, in which direction will the fridge move and what will the net force acting on the fridge be?

Answer 1

The fridge will move to the left with a net force of 15 N, as the larger force of 40 N is in that direction and the opposing force is 25 N.

Step-by-step explanation:

If a fridge is pushed to the right with a force of 25 N and simultaneously pushed to the left with a force of 40 N, the fridge will move in the direction of the larger force, which in this case is to the left. To determine the net force acting on the fridge, we subtract the smaller force from the larger one. Since the forces are in opposite directions, we need to consider their direction by assigning a positive or negative sign to each force. Here, we can define right as the positive direction and left as the negative direction, similar to what is indicated in the provided reference that states 'Define right to be the positive direction and hence left is the negative direction'. Therefore, the force to the right is +25 N, and the force to the left is -40 N.

The net force is calculated as follows:

Net force = Fleft + Fright
Net force = (-40 N) + (25 N)

Net force = -15 N

This means that the net force acting on the fridge is 15 N to the left. In other words, the fridge will move to the left with a net force of 15 N.