Question

A person punches a wall with a force of 50N. How much force does the wall push back on the hand with?

a) The wall pushes back with a force of 50N.
b) The wall pushes back with a force of 0N.
c) The wall pushes back with a force greater than 50N.
d) The force the wall pushes back with depends on the wall's material.

Answer 1

The force the wall pushes back with depends on the wall's material.

Step-by-step explanation:

The force the wall pushes back with depends on the wall's material.

When a person punches a wall with a force of 50N, the wall will push back with an equal and opposite force according to Newton's third law of motion. However, the force the wall pushes back with can be different from 50N depending on the material of the wall. Some walls may be more rigid and therefore push back with the same amount of force (50N), while others may be more flexible and absorb some of the force, resulting in a lesser force being exerted back on the hand.

Therefore, the correct answer is d) The force the wall pushes back with depends on the wall's material.

Answer 2

The force does the wall push back on the hand with (c) The wall pushes back with a force greater than 50N.

Step-by-step explanation:

When the person punches the wall, Newton's third law of motion comes into play, stating that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. The force exerted by the person on the wall (50N) is met with an equal and opposite force exerted by the wall on the person's hand. Therefore, the wall pushes back with a force greater than 50N. This is because the force applied by the person and the force exerted by the wall are equal in magnitude but opposite in direction.

Understanding Newton's third law is crucial in analyzing interactions between objects. In this scenario, the hand exerts a force on the wall, and the wall exerts an equal but opposite force on the hand.

Option C is correct.