Physics (10th Edition)

Published by Wiley
ISBN 10: 1118486897
ISBN 13: 978-1-11848-689-4

Chapter 4 - Forces and Newton's Laws of Motion - Focus On Concepts - Page 112: 13

Answer

(b) is the correct answer.

Work Step by Step

Let's call the pushing force $P$ and the angle $P$ makes with the wall $\theta$. We have the horizontal component of $P$ is $P\sin\theta$ As $P\sin\theta$ pushes horizontally onto the wall, according to Newton's 3rd law, the wall pushes back onto the person with normal force $F_N$. Also, with Newton's 3rd law, we have $$P\sin\theta=F_N$$ Here, the angles are ranked in ascending order: $\theta_B\lt\theta_A\lt\theta_C$ Since $P\sin\theta=F_N$, we can rank $F_N$ in ascending order, too: B, A, C.
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