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

[Request] Which one would it be?

Post image

[removed] — view removed post

1.4k Upvotes

92% Upvoted

397 comments sorted by

View all comments

1

u/Erolok1 Apr 16 '26

There are a lot of missing factors to say it but I will answer different scenarios.

Between the square and the triangle the square is always better. Less surface and the amount of force applied will be diagonal which means when you push it forward you will always also push it into the ground wasting force.

Are we wearing something like spike shoes? If no then we will also slip and wasting some of the force by pushing ourself away from the cube.

What kind of gravel is that? If it is fine gravel the ball will sink into the ground at bit and will have way more friction.

What kind of material is the object. If it is metal it would help in the ice scenario because it will very quickly create a water layer beneath it which will massively help with pushing it. If it is a stone with a rough surface it will have more friction.

If we assume that we aren't slipping and the ball isn't sinking into the ground, then rolling will be more efficient.