Question

If a sled pushes with a force of 50 N on a snowman, how much force will the snowman push on the sled with? Explain.

a. 50 N, in the opposite direction
b. 50 N, in the same direction
c. 100 N, in the opposite direction
d. 0 N, no force applied

Answer 1

The snowman will push back on the sled with a force of 50 N in the opposite direction (option a), according to Newton's third law of motion which states that every action has an equal and opposite reaction.

Step-by-step explanation:

If a sled pushes with a force of 50 N on a snowman, according to Newton's third law of motion, the snowman will push back on the sled with an equal and opposite force. In this case, that would be 50 N, but in the opposite direction. Newton's third law states that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.


This law applies to all forces in nature and is crucial for understanding interactions between objects. Hence, if the sled exerts a force on the snowman, the snowman exerts the same magnitude of force back on the sled. Therefore, the correct answer is:

a. 50 N, in the opposite direction.

Another example to understand this concept is a man pushing a box across the floor. If the box moves at a constant velocity, the force of friction must be equal and opposite to the force applied by the man, confirming the observation of Newton's laws.