Question

You’re squeezing on a rubber stress ball. If you push inward with a force of 1 N, it dents inward by 2 mm, and then pushes back with a force of 1N. How far must you dent it before it pushes back with a force of 5 N?

Answer 1

Solution:

Based on Newton's third law

The force with which the ball was squeezed = 1N

The dent it produces = 2mm

The force with which it restores back the same shape is also = 1N

( ? ) Asked to find the dent before pushing back if the force applied was 5N

According the Newton's third law, which states that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction

therefore, the force with which pushes back is also = 5N (as in the first case too )

By the simple unitary method, we get,

For 1N it produces a 2 mm dent

for 5N it produces a x mm dent

where, the dent is, x = 10 mm