Question
A boy standing on a frictionless ice rink is initially at rest. He throws a snowball in the +x-direction, and it travels on a ballistic trajectory, hitting the ground some distance away. Which of the following is true about the boy while he is in the act of throwing the snowball?
- He feels an upward force to compensate for the downward trajectory of the snowball.
- He feels a backward force exerted by the snowball he is throwing.
- He feels no net force.
- He feels a forward force, the same force that propels the snowball.
Final Answer
(b)
Solution video
OpenStax College Physics for AP® Courses, Chapter 8, Problem 1 (Test Prep for AP® Courses)
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Video Transcript
This is College physics Answers with Shaun Dychko. A boy is standing on a frictionless ice rink and is initially not moving and he throws a snowball in the positive x direction to the right. That means the boy is exerting a force on the snowball to the right, and so the snowball will in turn exert an equal but opposite the directed force on the boy. So the boy will experience a force backwards.