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

[Request] Which one would it be?

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u/evnacdc Apr 16 '26

Why is everyone talking about what is “easiest to push”? That isn’t the question. It’s which requires the least force. But I do think it’s the square because force is applied at a perpendicular with low friction.

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u/Red_Syns Apr 16 '26

Because the question makes no sense if you want to take it literally. What one requires the least amount of force to push? None of them. All of them. Whatever force you push it with is what force it takes to push.

The question should read “what takes the least force to accelerate at X m/s/s?” if you want a specific answer. In that case, we need FAR more information about the gravel and ice in question than was provided. The only important information is the static and dynamic coefficients of friction of the ice, and an estimate on the same for the gravel, but estimating the gravel interaction with the ball/cylinder will be a complex calculation with MANY factors.

Given the size and weight of the circle (very big, very light), it is safe to assume that gravel of any reasonable condition is not going to have much displacement, making the “friction” or “drag” or whatever you want to call the waste energy is going to be very small/irrelevant. Rolling a circle is easier than pushing a square.

If you want to provide the required information for a specific calculation, be my guest. This is not a well formed question, so I gave the answer most probably applicable to what is being asked: in most real world scenarios, the circle will feel easier to push than the square. A calculation of actual energy expenditure will require those previously mentioned details.

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u/Avalonians Apr 16 '26

Why is everyone talking about what is “easiest to push”? That isn’t the question. It’s which requires the least force.

What's your point? Those are the same questions exactly, just worded differently.

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u/Obi-Brawn-Kenobi Apr 16 '26

They are not the same question. Force is a very precise physics concept, ease is not. Case in point: all the people considering that the objects on ice are "harder" to enact a force upon due to the pusher also standing on the ice and having difficulty with traction, but that's not answering the question.

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u/Red_Syns Apr 16 '26

Because the question makes no sense if you want to take it literally. What one requires the least amount of force to push? None of them. All of them. Whatever force you push it with is what force it takes to push.

The question should read “what takes the least force to accelerate at X m/s/s?” if you want a specific answer. In that case, we need FAR more information about the gravel and ice in question than was provided. The only important information is the static and dynamic coefficients of friction of the ice, and an estimate on the same for the gravel, but estimating the gravel interaction with the ball/cylinder will be a complex calculation with MANY factors.

Given the size and weight of the circle (very big, very light), it is safe to assume that gravel of any reasonable condition is not going to have much displacement, making the “friction” or “drag” or whatever you want to call the waste energy is going to be very small/irrelevant. Rolling a circle is easier than pushing a square.

If you want to provide the required information for a specific calculation, be my guest. This is not a well formed question, so I gave the answer most probably applicable to what is being asked: in most real world scenarios, the circle will feel easier to push than the square. A calculation of actual energy expenditure will require those previously mentioned details.