Two skaters, Fred and Wilma, are standing on a frozen pond. Fred weighs twice as

Question

Two skaters, Fred and Wilma, are standing on a frozen pond. Fred weighs twice as much as Wilma. If Fred pushes to the left on Wilma, what can be said about the forces on each person and their accelerations?

A) Wilma experiences a force and acceleration to the left, while Fred experiences an equal force to the right. Fred's acceleration is to the right and is half of Wilma's.

B) Wilma experiences a force and acceleration to the left, while Fred experiences no force and no acceleration.

C) Wilma experiences a force and acceleration to the left, while Fred experiences an equal force and equal acceleration to the right.
D) Fred and Wilma experience equal forces and equal accelerations.
E) Wilma experiences a force and acceleration to the left, while Fred experiences an equal force to the right. Fred's acceleration is to the right and is twice Wilma's.

Explanation / Answer

If fred pushes wilma to left, wilma will experience force towards left
Since every action has equal and opposite reaction. fred will experience same force towards right.

Force on wilma ---> Left
Force on fred ---> right
direction of acceleration will be same as force

a = F/m
since mass of fred is double than mass of wilma, acceleration of Fred will be half of that of wilma

Answer:
A) Wilma experiences a force and acceleration to the left, while Fred experiences an equal force to the right. Fred's acceleration is to the right and is half of Wilma's.

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