A father is pulling his child on a sled in the snow. According to Newton's Third Law, the force the father exerts on the sled is equal to the force the sled exerts on the father but opposite in direction. How is it possible that the father can pull the child and sled forward?

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Physics

Brent Villegas

1 October, 17:56

A father is pulling his child on a sled in the snow. According to Newton's Third Law, the force the father exerts on the sled is equal to the force the sled exerts on the father but opposite in direction. How is it possible that the father can pull the child and sled forward?

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Brennen Kirby · Answer 1

That is because there are other forces like the friction forces that apply differently on both of them. The frictional forces applied to the sled are smaller than they are on the father, for example, so it's possible for him to pull it.