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Grade upto college level Mechanics

A small child is playing with a ball on level surface. She gives the ball a push to get it rolling, then the ball rolls a short distance before coming to a stop. The ball rolls slows to a stop because
(A) the child stopped pushing it.
(B) speed is proportional to force.
(C) there must have been some force on the ball opposing the direction of motion.
(D) the net force on the ball was zero, so it wanted to remain stationary

Profile image of Amit Saxena
11 Years agoGrade upto college level
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1 Answer

Profile image of Navjyot Kalra
11 Years ago
The correct option is (C).
In accordance with Newton’s First Law of Motion, an external force is needed to change the motion of the rolling ball. When this external force acts against the direction of the motion of the rolling ball, the ball will stop. This force may be in the form of frictional force. Therefore the ball slows to a stop because there must have been some force on the ball opposing the direction of motion.
From the above observation we conclude that, option (C) is correct.