Final answer:
The statement is true;
a person can accelerate when walking because even though the force they exert on the ground (F1) and the force the ground exerts back (F2) are equal and opposite, they act on different systems, resulting in a nonzero net force on the person.
Step-by-step explanation:
True or False: A person accelerates while walking on the ground by exerting force F1. The ground in turn exerts force F2 on the person. F1 and F2 are equal in magnitude but act in opposite directions.
The person is able to accelerate because the two forces act on the different systems and the net force acting on the person is nonzero. The statement is true.
According to Newton's Third Law of Motion, when a person exerts a force F1 on the ground, the ground exerts an equal and opposite force F2 back on the person. While F1 and F2 are equal in magnitude and opposite in direction, they act on different bodies—F1 on the ground and F2 on the person.
Therefore, they do not cancel each other out. The person accelerates due to F2, which is not balanced by any other force in the horizontal direction.
Since the acceleration is in the same direction as the net force acting on the system, composed of the person, and there is a nonzero net force in the direction of the walk, the person indeed accelerates.
Friction also plays a significant role here, acting between the person's foot and the ground, allowing the person to push back on the ground and move forward.
Without friction, the person would not be able to walk as they wouldn't be able to exert force effectively against the ground.