Normal reaction - force without acceleration When a body lies on the surface of the Earth it is under the influence of gravity. The force on the body due to gravity causes it to exert a force on the ground and the normal reaction acts in the opposite direction causing the resultant force on the body to be zero. However, how can the body exert a force on the ground when it does not have any acceleration? Since force equals mass times acceleration how does a body without acceleration experience a force?

Cortez Clarke

Cortez Clarke

Answered question

2022-11-04

Normal reaction - force without acceleration
When a body lies on the surface of the Earth it is under the influence of gravity. The force on the body due to gravity causes it to exert a force on the ground and the normal reaction acts in the opposite direction causing the resultant force on the body to be zero.
However, how can the body exert a force on the ground when it does not have any acceleration? Since force equals mass times acceleration how does a body without acceleration experience a force?

Answer & Explanation

AtticaPlotowvi

AtticaPlotowvi

Beginner2022-11-05Added 18 answers

When a body lies on the surface of the Earth it is under the influence of gravity. The force on the body due to gravity causes it to exert a force on the ground and the normal reaction acts in the opposite direction causing the resultant force on the body to be zero.
Correct
However, how can the body exert a force on the ground when it does not have any acceleration? Since force equals mass times acceleration how does a body without acceleration experience a force?
But you do have an acceleration, g, which you stated in the first paragraph (the force on the body due to gravity...). And this force is equal and opposite to the normal force:
F g = F N m g ( z ^ ) = m g z ^
That the net force is zero only means that the object is not accelerating, not that there are no forces acting on it.
charmbraqdy

charmbraqdy

Beginner2022-11-06Added 4 answers

Newton's second law of motion states this F n e t = m a
Here, F n e t is zero, so a is zero too. Going back in reverse (what you did in question), a = F n e t m can only deduce that the body is experiencing no net force. That's it.
Feel free to use Law of Gravitation, Coulumb's Law etc when the force in question isn't the sole cause of the effect. Newton's second law of motion can't help here.

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