The child pushed the baby walker from a carpet onto a hard floor. The child applied the same horizontal force to the baby walker. Explain why the speed of the baby walker increased.

The motion of the baby walker is determined by the resultant force acting on it. This is the difference between the forward push force from the child and the backward resistive force of friction. 1. **Friction:** A hard floor has a lower coefficient of friction than a carpet. Therefore, the frictional force opposing the motion is smaller on the hard floor. 2. **Resultant Force:** The child applies the same forward force. Because the backward frictional force is now smaller, the overall resultant force (Push Force - Frictional Force) is larger. 3. **Acceleration:** According to Newton's Second Law (F=ma), acceleration is directly proportional to the resultant force. A larger resultant force causes a greater acceleration, meaning the walker's speed increases more quickly.