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What is a fictitious force, as distinguished from a real force like tension or friction?
AA force having no physical origin
BA force that only pushes, never pulls
CA force that acts solely on rotating objects
DA force equal in size to gravity
Answer & Solution
Correct answer: A. A force having no physical origin
1. A fictitious force is defined as a force having no physical origin.
2. It arises only because an observer is using a non-inertial, accelerating or rotating frame of reference rather than an inertial one.
3. It is not restricted to pushing only, nor is it defined by acting solely on rotating objects, and it has no fixed size relative to gravity.
4. The defining feature is the absence of a real physical source, which is exactly what separates it from forces like tension, friction, or gravity.
_Source: OpenStax College Physics (CC BY 4.0), Ch 6 "Uniform Circular Motion and Gravitation", section 6.4 Fictitious Forces and Non-inertial Frames: The Coriolis Force_
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