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Home Minds On Newton's Laws Mission NL3 Unbalanced Forces and Acceleration Help Help 1

Mission NL3 Unbalanced Forces and Acceleration

The Question

The diagrams below depict the individual forces acting upon an object. Each arrow represents a force and the length of the arrow represents the size of the force. Based on this information, which objects could be moving to the right at a constant speed? List all that apply ... .

 

Physics Rules

Newton's First Law of Motion:
An object at rest will stay at rest; an object in motion will stay in motion with the same speed and direction, unless acted upon by an unbalanced force.

Don't be Fooled

It is a common misconception to think that a force causes a motion in a given direction. This misconception leads to the further misconception that a motion to the right requires an unbalanced force to the right. But don't be fooled! Forces, when unbalanced, cause accelerations. The direction of the acceleration is the same as the direction of the unbalanced force. Only an acceleration to the right would require an unbalanced force to the right. A motion at constant speed in a given direction is consistent with a balance of forces. Make O' Isaac proud and answer this one right.

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