Penny's Dog Adventure: A Physics Experiment

Will the motion of the two wagons be different?

A. Yes; Fluffy's wagon will stop first.

B. Yes; Butch's wagon will move faster.

C. No; the wagons will both move in the same way.

D. Yes; Fluffy's wagon will move faster.

Answer: D

Explanation: In this scenario, Penny pushes two small red wagons with Fluffy in one and Butch in the other across a level surface. The motion of the two wagons will be different. Fluffy's wagon will actually move faster than Butch's due to the initial force given by Penny. Since Fluffy went first, she will stop first, but she will move faster than Butch. Therefore, option D is correct.

When Penny decides to give her dogs, Fluffy and Butch, a little adventure by placing them in two identical small red wagons and pushing them across a level surface, she initiates an interesting physics experiment.

As Fluffy and Butch experience the motion of the wagons, their movement can be explained by Newton's Laws of Motion. The force applied by Penny results in an acceleration of the wagons, causing them to move. According to Newton's First Law of Motion, an object at rest will remain at rest unless acted upon by an external force. In this case, Penny's push serves as the external force that sets the wagons in motion.

Furthermore, Newton's Second Law of Motion states that the acceleration of an object is directly proportional to the net force acting on it and inversely proportional to its mass. As a result, Fluffy's wagon, being pushed first and with the same force as Butch's wagon, will experience a greater acceleration due to its lighter mass compared to Butch's wagon.

Ultimately, the motion of the two wagons will indeed be different, with Fluffy's wagon moving faster even though it stops first. This demonstrates key principles of physics and the effects of force and acceleration on objects of varying masses.