Consider a book that remains at rest on an incline. A. Compare the normal force

Question

Consider a book that remains at rest on an incline.




A. Compare the normal force exerted on the book by the inclined plane and the weight force exerted on the book by earth. Are they equal in magnitude?

A.No
B.Yes
C.Cannot say. Their magnitudes cannot be determined since the forces are not in the same direction.

B. Are they opposite in direction?

Yes; the normal force acts opposite to the weight force because the book is stationary.
Yes; the normal force always acts opposite the weight force. Otherwise, the book would fall through the inclined plane.
No; the normal force acts perpendicular to the surface of the inclined plane.
No; the normal force acts up the incline to keep the book from sliding down.

Explanation / Answer

In the first question, just realize that the normal force only balances out the component of gravity that is perpendicular to the plane, and static friction has to act to balance out the rest of the gravitational force.  Therefore, the normal force is less.

c.) No

The normal force always acts perpendicular to the surface of contact, which means that the answer is:

d.) No; the normal force acts perpendicular to the surface of the inclined plane.

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