Question

You are pushing a heavy box across a rough floor. When you are initially pushing the box and it is accelerating,

a) you exert a force on the box, but the box does not exert a force on you.
b) the force that the box exerts on you is greater than the force you exert on the box.
c) the force you exert on the box is equal to the force of the box pushing back on you.
d) the force you exert on the box is greater than the force of the box pushing back on you.
e) the box is so heavy it exerts a force on you, but you do not exert a force on the box.

Answer 1

Step-by-step explanation:

It is given that, you are pushing a heavy box across a rough floor. Let F₁ and F₂ are forces exerted by the box and man respectively. According to the third law of Newton, the force acting on the box by the man is equal to the force acting on the man by the box.

So, when you are initially pushing the box and it is accelerating, the force you exert on the box is equal to the force of the box pushing back on you i.e.

F₁ = F₂

So, the correct option is (c).