Explain why

(a) a horse cannot pull a cart and run in empty space,

(b) passengers are thrown forward from their seats when a speeding bus stops suddenly,

(c) it is easier to pull a lawnmower than to push it,

(d) a cricketer moves his hands backwards while holding a catch.

Asked by Abhisek | 1 year ago |  73

##### Solution :-

(a) The horse pushes the ground with a certain force when it pulls the cart. By applying the third law of motion, the ground will exert an equal and opposite reaction force upon the feet of the horse. This causes the horse to move forward. In empty space, the horse will not experience a reaction force. Therefore, the horse cannot pull the cart in empty space.

(b) Due to inertia of motion. When a bus stops all of a sudden, the lower part of a person’s body that is in contact with the seat comes to rest suddenly but the upper part will continue to be in motion. As a result, the person’s upper half of the body is thrown forward in the direction of the motion of the bus.

(c) When the lawnmower is pulled, the vertical component of the applied force acts upwards. This reduces the effective weight of the lawnmower. When the lawn mower is pushed, the vertical component acts in the direction of the weight of the mower. Therefore, there is an increase in the weight of the mower. So, it is easier to pull a lawnmower than to push it.

(d) When the batsman hits the ball, the ball will have a large momentum. When he moves his hands backwards the time of impact is increased contact, so the force is reduced.

Answered by Pragya Singh | 1 year ago

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