Mrs. Jacobson is pushing a fridge to the right with a force of 100 N. The force pushing it
to the left is 15 N. What is the net (leftover) force on the fridge?
85 N to the right
85 N to the left
115 N to the right
115 N to the left

A

Explanation:

Let's illustrate this; see the attachment.

We see that Mrs. Jacobson is pushing to the right with a force of 100 N and there is another opposite force pushing with a force of 15 N. Since these are in opposite directions, we can say that the force opposite to Mrs. Jacobson is pushing the fridge -15 N to the right (instead of 15 N to the left).

The net force would then be:

100 N + (-15 N) = 85 N to the right

The answer is A.

85 N to the right

Explanation:

Convention: rightwards positive

Force applied by Mrs. Jacobson:

+100

Force applied by the fridge:

-15

Net force

+100 - 15

+85