Hey guys,
So today I was in my Physics lab and a small argument arose. We had a pre-test with a question that stated:
"Jan pushes on a refrigerator just enough to barely get it to move at a constant speed. Is her force on the refrigerator greater than, less than, or equal to the force of the refrigerator on her"
So I said that her force on the refrigerator is equal to that of the refrigerator on her. As long as the forces are balanced, the object will move in a constant speed...right? I also said that if there is an unbalanced force, the object will accelerate in the direction of that force.
My classmates argued against me saying that the force of gravity equals the normal force, yet we don't move. Why would the refrigerator move if the forces were constant?
Any clarification would be appreciated. Thanks
So today I was in my Physics lab and a small argument arose. We had a pre-test with a question that stated:
"Jan pushes on a refrigerator just enough to barely get it to move at a constant speed. Is her force on the refrigerator greater than, less than, or equal to the force of the refrigerator on her"
So I said that her force on the refrigerator is equal to that of the refrigerator on her. As long as the forces are balanced, the object will move in a constant speed...right? I also said that if there is an unbalanced force, the object will accelerate in the direction of that force.
My classmates argued against me saying that the force of gravity equals the normal force, yet we don't move. Why would the refrigerator move if the forces were constant?
Any clarification would be appreciated. Thanks