Question

A woman is standing on a steep hillside in the rain and is not moving. A

sudden gust of wind blows down the hillside, which makes her start sliding
down the hill. When the wind stops blowing, the woman continues to slide.
Which of the following statements explains why she continues to slide down
the hillside?
A. The component of the woman's weight along the hillside is larger
than the kinetic friction between the woman and the ground.
B. The component of the woman's weight along the hillside is less
than the kinetic friction between the woman and the ground.
C. The component of the woman's weight along the hillside is larger
than the static friction between the woman and the ground.
D. The component of the woman's weight along the hillside is less
than the static friction between the woman and the ground.
SUBMIT

Answer 1

The correct option is;

A. The component of the woman's weight along the hillside is larger than the kinetic friction between the woman and the ground

Step-by-step explanation:

Given that the coefficient of static friction is always larger than the coefficient of kinetic friction, we have that before the wind blew, the component of the woman's weight along the hillside was lesser than the static friction between the woman and the ground, when the wind blew the total force of the wind and the component of the woman's weight put her into motion such that the acting frictional force was then the kinetic frictional force which was lesser than the kinetic frictional force so the woman continues to slide down the hillside without the wind.