Question

Juan and Jose are having an argument about their science book. Juan says that since the book is sitting still, there are no forces acting upon it. Jose says there are forces acting upon the book. Who is correct? Explain why.

Answer 1

Jose is right

Step-by-step explanation:

As the book is sitting still on the table, it is being acted upon by two forces of equal magnitude and opposite direction. Theses are;

i) The weight of the book

ii) The normal reaction on the book

The weight of the book acts downwards while the normal reaction acts upwards. These two forces exactly counterbalance each other hence the book sits still on the table.