According to the third law of motion when we push an object, the object pushes back on us with an equal and opposite force, if the object is a massive truck parked along the roadside, it will probably not move. A student justifies this by answering that the two opposite and equal forces cancel each other. Comment on this logic and explain why the truck does not move.
Student’s justification is not correct. Two equal and opposite forces cancel each other if they act on the same body. According to the third law of motion, action and reaction forces are equal and opposite but they both act on different bodies. Hence, they cannot cancel each other.
When we push a massive truck, then the force applied on the truck is not sufficient to overcome the force of friction between the tyres of the truck and ground. Hence the truck does not move. The truck will move only if the force applied on it is greater than the frictional force.