If you could skate on a perfectly smooth, frictionless surface (like ice!), what would happen when you push yourself once?a) You would immediately stopb) You would slow down due to air resistancec) You would keep moving at the same speed foreverd) You would need to keep pushing to stay moving
Question
If you could skate on a perfectly smooth, frictionless surface (like ice!), what would happen when you push yourself once?a) You would immediately stopb) You would slow down due to air resistancec) You would keep moving at the same speed foreverd) You would need to keep pushing to stay moving
Solution
The correct answer is c) You would keep moving at the same speed forever.
Here's why:
On a perfectly smooth, frictionless surface, there's nothing to slow you down. When you push off, you give yourself a certain amount of speed. Without friction to slow you down, you would maintain that speed indefinitely. This is due to Newton's first law of motion, which states that an object in motion stays in motion with the same speed and in the same direction unless acted upon by an unbalanced force. In this case, the unbalanced force could be friction, but since we're assuming a frictionless surface, there's nothing to slow you down.
Please note that this is a theoretical situation. In real life, there would be other factors like air resistance that would eventually slow you down.
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