Newton's Third Law Notes
***Newton's Third Law states that for every action there's an equal and opposite reaction.
-Forces always come in pairs.
-The size of the forces on the first object equals the size of the force on the second object.
-The direction of the force on the first object is opposite to the direction of the force on the second object.
-Action and reaction forces.
1. While driving down the road, a firefly strikes the windshield of a bus and makes a quite obvious mess in front of the face of the driver. This is a clear case of Newton's third law of motion. The firefly hit the bus and the bus hits the firefly. Which of the two forces is greater: the force on the firefly or the force on the bus?
The forces are equal.
2. For years, space travel was believed to be impossible because there was nothing that rockets could push off of in space in order to provide the propulsion necessary to accelerate. This inability of a rocket to provide propulsion is because ...
a. ... space is void of air so the rockets have nothing to push off of.
3. Many people are familiar with the fact that a rifle recoils when fired. This recoil is the result of action-reaction force pairs. A gunpowder explosion creates hot gases that expand outward allowing the rifle to push forward on the bullet. Consistent with Newton's third law of motion, the bullet pushes backwards upon the rifle. The acceleration of the recoiling rifle is ...
b. smaller than the acceleration of the bullet.
4. In the top picture (below), Kent Budgett is pulling upon a rope that is attached to a wall. In the bottom picture, the Kent is pulling upon a rope that is attached to an elephant. In each case, the force scale reads 500 Newton. Kent is pulling ...
c. the same force in each case.
-Forces always come in pairs.
-The size of the forces on the first object equals the size of the force on the second object.
-The direction of the force on the first object is opposite to the direction of the force on the second object.
-Action and reaction forces.
1. While driving down the road, a firefly strikes the windshield of a bus and makes a quite obvious mess in front of the face of the driver. This is a clear case of Newton's third law of motion. The firefly hit the bus and the bus hits the firefly. Which of the two forces is greater: the force on the firefly or the force on the bus?
The forces are equal.
2. For years, space travel was believed to be impossible because there was nothing that rockets could push off of in space in order to provide the propulsion necessary to accelerate. This inability of a rocket to provide propulsion is because ...
a. ... space is void of air so the rockets have nothing to push off of.
3. Many people are familiar with the fact that a rifle recoils when fired. This recoil is the result of action-reaction force pairs. A gunpowder explosion creates hot gases that expand outward allowing the rifle to push forward on the bullet. Consistent with Newton's third law of motion, the bullet pushes backwards upon the rifle. The acceleration of the recoiling rifle is ...
b. smaller than the acceleration of the bullet.
4. In the top picture (below), Kent Budgett is pulling upon a rope that is attached to a wall. In the bottom picture, the Kent is pulling upon a rope that is attached to an elephant. In each case, the force scale reads 500 Newton. Kent is pulling ...
c. the same force in each case.