Question

Jack is doing push-ups. Which requires smaller muscular force – if his hands are 0.25 m apart, or his hands are 0.5 m apart?

a) It requires less force when his hands are 0.25 m apart.
b) It requires less force when his hands are 0.5 m apart.
c) The force required is the same in both cases.
d) The force required depends on factors other than hand distance.

Answer 1

For push-ups, placing hands farther apart at 0.5 m requires less muscular force due to increased torque, making it easier compared to a narrow stance of 0.25 m. Therefore, the correct answer is: b) It requires less force when his hands are 0.5 m apart.

Step-by-step explanation:

The question you're asking relates to the biomechanics of doing push-ups and involves understanding the concept of torque in physics. Torque is the measure of the force that can cause an object to rotate about an axis.

The wider your hands are placed apart, the greater the torque that is created around your shoulder joints because the moment arm (the distance from the rotational axis to the point where force is applied) is longer.

Therefore, with hands 0.5 m apart, the same muscular force produces more torque due to the increased distance, which means you'll have a mechanical advantage and the exercise will require less muscular effort. Conversely, with hands 0.25 m apart, the torque is less for the same force, so you will need to exert more force to sustain the same movement.

Therefore, the correct answer is: b) It requires less force when his hands are 0.5 m apart.