Question

What is the force on the book in the figure below ? If the book moves, in which direction will it move ?

Answer 1

Answer:

1. 2 N to the left

2. To the left.

Explanation:

1. Determination of the net force.

Force applied to the right (Fᵣ) = 18 N

Force applied to the left (Fₗ) = 20 N

Net force (Fₙ) =?

The net force acting on the book can be obtained as follow:

Fₙ = Fₗ – Fᵣ

Fₙ = 20 – 18

Fₙ = 2 N to the left

Thus, the net force acting on the book is 2 N to the left

2. Determination of the direction.

From 1 above, the net force acting on the book is 2 N to the left. This simply means that the book will move to the left direction.