In a horse cart problem, the horse and cart applies equal and opposite force on each other and hence the cart will never move.
Which of these statements are true?
(A) The horse applies a force on the cart and the cart pulls the horse back with a force equal and opposite in direction.
(B) The horse applies a force on the cart and the cart applies a force on the ground.
(C) The two forces mentioned in option one A each other
(D) The two forces in option A are acting on two different bodies and don’t cancel each other.
When a horse exerts a force on cart , the cart exerts an equal and opposite force on the horse. Then how come the horse can manage to pull the cart ?
A horse is harnessed to a cart. If the horse tries to pull the cart, the horse must exert a force on the cart. By Newton's third law the cart must then exert an equal and opposite force on the horse. Since the two forces are equal and opposite, they must add to zero, so Newton's second law tells us that the acceleration of the system must be zero and therefore no matter how hard the horse pulls, it can never move the cart.