A pencil standing upright on its eraser end falls over and lands on a table. As the pencil falls, its eraser does not slip. The following questions refer to the contact force exerted on the pencil by the table. Let the positive x direction be in the direction the pencil falls, and the positive y direction be vertically upward.

(a) During the pencil's fall, is the x component of the contact force positive, negative, or zero? Explain.

(b) Is the y component of the contact force greater than, less than, or equal to the weight of the pencil? Explain.