A boy holds an apple as shown.
Why doesn’t gravity cause the apple to fall to the ground?
(1 point)
Responses
a The force of his hand pushes up on the apple with equal magnitude to the force of gravity, which pulls down on the apple. The two forces are unbalanced, so the apple doesn't fall.
b The force of his hand pushes up on the apple with greater magnitude than the force of gravity, which pulls down on the apple. The two forces are unbalanced, so the apple doesn't fall.
c The force of his hand pushes up on the apple with greater magnitude than the force of gravity, which pulls down on the apple. The two forces are balanced, so the apple doesn't fall.
d The force of his hand pushes up on the apple with equal magnitude to the force of gravity, which pulls down on the apple. The two forces are balanced, so the apple doesn't fall.
a The force of his hand pushes up on the apple with equal magnitude to the force of gravity, which pulls down on the apple. The two forces are unbalanced, so the apple doesn't fall.
The correct answer is d) The force of his hand pushes up on the apple with equal magnitude to the force of gravity, which pulls down on the apple. The two forces are balanced, so the apple doesn't fall.
The correct answer is option c: The force of his hand pushes up on the apple with greater magnitude than the force of gravity, which pulls down on the apple. The two forces are balanced, so the apple doesn't fall.
To understand why this is the correct answer, we need to consider Newton's third law of motion and the concept of balanced forces. According to Newton's third law, for every action (force) there is an equal and opposite reaction. In this case, the action is the force of the boy's hand pushing up on the apple, and the reaction is the force of gravity pulling the apple downwards.
When the boy holds the apple, he exerts an upward force on it with his hand to counteract the downward force of gravity. In order for the apple to remain stationary and not fall, these two forces must be equal in magnitude but opposite in direction. This creates a state of equilibrium where the net force on the apple is zero.
If the force of the boy's hand pushing up on the apple were weaker than the force of gravity, the net force would be directed downward and the apple would fall. If the force of the boy's hand were stronger than the force of gravity, then the net force would be directed upwards and the apple would accelerate upwards. However, none of these scenarios are happening since the forces are balanced.
Therefore, option c is the correct choice because it correctly describes the balance of forces between the boy's hand and gravity, resulting in the apple remaining in place without falling to the ground.