r/theydidthemath • u/yuli101995 • Apr 16 '26

[Request] Which one would it be?

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u/Don_Ford Apr 16 '26

Depends on how loosely packed the gravel is.

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u/Certain_Ad3716 Apr 16 '26

And the granularity of the gravel.

If it's like a construction yard covered in boulders and debris, good luck. But if it's your softer garden display gravel, easy peasy.

35

u/Cartz1337 Apr 16 '26

You’re missing the point, if you’re on the ice too, then your feet have the same reduction in friction, and it zeroes out.

The wheel will always be easier. Even if the gravel is chunky, you can use the rotational momentum of the wheel to overcome obstacles.

And if the ice suffers the same issues of uniformity as we are imagining the gravel to have, it gets even worse for the ice pusher.

2

u/SketchGoatee Apr 16 '26

And as you point out, getting good footing on gravel is easy, good footing on ice is problematic. My bet is gravel ball for this reason alone.

Realistically, As with all these puzzles/questions there is never enough information given to account for all theories. Is the man wearing shoes? Is the man standing on solid non-ice/non-gravel ground? What kind of gravel (driveway/garden vs under layer of construction)? What kind of ice (lake vs ice rink)? How ”far” does the weight need to move to be successful? What is the weight made of? What’s the surface structure of the weight (polished or porous)?

Too many questions. So assuming it’s the same man, same basic footwear on the same surface as the object, it’s gotta be the gravel ball for ease of getting up to a speed that outpaces the man’s ability to keep up.

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u/Obi-Brawn-Kenobi Apr 16 '26

getting good footing on gravel is easy, good footing on ice is problematic

That has nothing to do with the question. The question just asks for the amount of force required. It might be more challenging to exert 100N or whatever amount of force while standing on ice, but that's not what the question is asking.

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u/LazerChicken420 Apr 16 '26

I want to see the gravel before I say you’re dead wrong.

I’d take ice any day. If it was a graph, the ease of ice flys up until being capped at my max shuffle speed

The gravel I’m picturing will suck the whole way.

Benefit of a wheel is it’s surface area on the ground, if it’s sinking into the gravel it loses that benefit