Question - Softball Player Sliding Forces Analysis

The forces acting on the softball player during a head-first dive across the infield dirt while ignoring air resistance are:

1. Gravity (weight), which acts downwards and is equal to the mass of the softball player times the acceleration due to gravity (mg).

2. Normal force, which acts perpendicular to the contact surface and upwards. It is equal in magnitude and opposite in direction to the weight if the player is sliding on a level surface.

3. Frictional force, which acts parallel to the contact surface and opposite to the direction of motion. The magnitude of the frictional force depends on the coefficient of friction between the player and the infield dirt and the normal force.

The magnitudes of these forces are relative to each other: the normal force balances the weight in the absence of vertical acceleration, and the frictional force is less than the weight and normal force since it opposes the motion without stopping it immediately (assuming the player keeps sliding).