Question

imagine you and a friend are trying to rearrange the furniture in your classroom. You push on a desk with a force of 150 N to the right. Your friend pushes on the same desk with a force of 50 N to the left. What is the net force on the desk?

Answer 1

100N

Explanation:

If I push on a desk with a force of 150 N to the right and my friend pushes on the same desk with a force of 50 N to the left, this means that I pushed the desk in the positive x direction and the force I applied is F1 = +150N; my friend pushes the desk in the negative x direction and the applied force will be F2 = -50N.

THe net force will the sum total of both forces acting on the desk.

Net force F = F1+F2

Given F1 = +150N and F2 = -50N

Net force F = +150N+(-50N)

Net force F = +150N-50N

Net force F = +100N

Hence the net force on the desk is 100N