A horse exerts 500 N of force on a heavy wagon. The wagon pulls back on the horse with an equal force. The wagon still accelerates because

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The wagon accelerates because the force the horse exerts on the wagon is part of an action-reaction pair, where the horse exerts a force on the wagon and the wagon exerts an equal and opposite force on the horse. However, the system (horse + wagon) accelerates because the force exerted by the horse on the ground (and vice versa) creates an unbalanced force that moves the system forward. This means there is still an unbalanced force acting on the wagon, allowing it to accelerate.

A Horse Exerts 500 N of Force on a Heavy