Question

10. In the photo, a locomotive has broken through the wall of a train station. During the collision, what can be said about the force exerted by the locomotive on the wall? A. The force exerted by the locomotive on the wall was the same in magnitude as the force exerted by the wall on the locomotive. B. The force exerted by the locomotive on the wall was larger than the force the wall could exert on the locomotive. C. The force exerted by the locomotive on the wall was less than the force exerted by the wall on the locomotive. D. The wall cannot be said to "exert" a force; after all, it broke

Answer 1

The force exerted by the locomotive on the wall is the same in magnitude as the force being exerted by that wall on the given locomotive.

Option A

Explanation:

Newton’s third law of motion gives us the answer for the problem in question. The third law, defines the law of equal and opposite reaction, which states that every action has an equal and opposite reaction. Thus, the action here would be the force put by the locomotive on the wall, whereas the reaction would be the force applied by the given wall on the given locomotive.

Since action and reaction are equal, the force exerted by the locomotive on the wall is the same in magnitude as the force being exerted by the wall on the given locomotive even if the wall breaks, although, the forces are opposite to each other in terms of direction.