Standing on a frictionless surface (like a sheet of ice), two boys, one strong and one weak, are attempting to break a string in half by pulling on its opposite ends. If the only horizontal forces they exert are on the string, who is exerting more force?

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Physics

Cristofer Flores

Today, 00:02

Standing on a frictionless surface (like a sheet of ice), two boys, one strong and one weak, are attempting to break a string in half by pulling on its opposite ends. If the only horizontal forces they exert are on the string, who is exerting more force?

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Maurice Lang · Answer 1

The strongest boy will exert a higher force compared to the weak one. There will be a net force created as a result of the interaction of the two forces which will cause the strong and weak boy to move towards each other because of the friction-less surface but the weak one will have a greater acceleration compared to weak one.