Question

A student is sitting at rest in a chair. How does the force that the student exerts

on the chair compare to the force the chair exerts on the student? *
•a larger magnitude but the opposite direction
•a smaller magnitude but the same direction
•the same magnitude but the opposite direction
•the same magnitude and the same direction

Answer 1

the same magnitude but the opposite direction

Step-by-step explanation:

Newton's third law of motion states that there is always an equal and opposite reaction to every action. This means that the amount of force exerted upon an object is equal to the amount of force the object exerts but in an opposite direction.

This is the case in this scenario where a student sits at rest in a chair. The student is supplying the action force being exerted on the chair. According to the third law of Newton, the chair will exert the same size of force back in the student but in an opposite direction.

Hence, the force the chair exerts on the students compare with that of the student in the sense that they are the same magnitude (size) but the opposite directions.