Question

In one or two sentences, describe what would happen to the arrows and forces if the surface that the crate was on was ice. (Hint: Ice has almost no friction.)

Answer 1

On a frictionless ice surface, a crate accelerated by a force continues to move at a constant velocity once the force is removed, because no external forces like friction are present to slow it down.

Step-by-step explanation:

If a crate is on a surface with almost no friction, such as ice, when a force is applied to accelerate it and that force is removed, the crate would continue to move at a constant velocity due to the lack of friction to slow it down. This is in accordance with Newton's first law, which states that an object in motion will stay in motion with the same speed and in the same direction unless acted upon by an unbalanced force. Therefore, if there is zero friction and we ignore air resistance, the crate would not experience any net external force and hence would not slow down, gliding indefinitely until another force is applied to stop it or change its direction.