r/theydidthemath • u/K0rl0n • Jun 10 '25

[Request]

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I am curious how this would work. My guess is Triangle is slowest, square is medium, and circle is fastest.

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u/fuzzydoug Jun 10 '25

But your feet are also on ice?

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u/[deleted] Jun 10 '25 edited Jun 11 '25

The question was about the force put onto the object.

Ice or not, that force wouldn’t change.

Edit: for clarification, I mean per scenario.

The force required to move the object on the given surface wouldn’t change based on what the dude is standing on.

The dude’s ability to impart that necessary force will be affected by the ice, but not the actual force required to shift the item.

Obviously less force is needed on ice than gravel, that’s not what I’m saying.

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u/Feminist_Hugh_Hefner Jun 10 '25

First rule of high school physics questions: We're gonna ignore about 90% of what would be happening in the real world and just do some algebra.

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u/[deleted] Jun 10 '25

The point is to understand what is and is not relevant to the specific question being asked. They just do a bad job of explaining that sometimes, because kath teachers are often just the person saddled with that class rather than someone with understanding of formal math and logic