Q. A student unable to answer a question on Newton’s law of motion attempts to pull himself up by tugging on his hair. He will not succeed
A) As the force exerted is small
B) The frictional force while gripping, is small
C) Newton’s law of inertia is not applicable to living beings
D) As the force applied is internal to the system
Explanation
(d) In this case the internal force is applied on the system, so he will not succeed. According to Newton’s law the state of a body can only be changed if some external force is applied on it.
Reviewed by Dr. Abubacker
Physics Educator & NEET/JEE Specialist
Ph.D. in Physics with 19+ years of teaching experience.