A student pushes a heavy box that is already moving across a rough floor. If the force applied by the student is exactly equal to the frictional force opposing the motion, what will happen to the box?
The box will move at a constant speed
According to Newton's First Law of Motion (Law of Inertia): an object continues in its state of rest or uniform motion unless acted upon by an unbalanced (net) force.
When the applied force equals the frictional force:
Net Force = Applied Force − Friction = 0
∴ The box moves at a constant speed (neither accelerating nor decelerating).
If applied force > friction: box accelerates. If applied force < friction: box decelerates and eventually stops.
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