Question

If for every action force an equal and opposite reaction force exists, how can anything ever be accelerated?

A.)The action and reaction forces act on different objects, therefore the net force is not always zero.

B.)The action force, when accelerating, is greater than the reaction force.

C.)The reaction force is not always in the same vector direction as the action force.

D.)none of the above

Answer 1

The action and reaction forces act on different objects, which allows for acceleration to occur despite the forces being equal and opposite, as these forces do not act on the same entity.(Option A)

Step-by-step explanation:

If for every action force an equal and opposite reaction force exists, this might seem to make acceleration impossible at first glance. However, the answer to the question of how something can be accelerated, given that for every action force there is an equal and opposite reaction force, is A) The action and reaction forces act on different objects, therefore the net force is not always zero.

This is a central component of Newton's third law of motion; for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction, but these forces are never exerted on the same object, which is why they do not cancel out. For example, when you push on a wall, the wall pushes back with an equal force, but neither of you accelerate because you are both exerting and receiving these forces. However, if you push a skateboard, the force from your push accelerates the skateboard, while the equal and opposite force from the skateboard pushes back on you.

Answer 2

If there are two equal and opposite forces on the SAME THING, then the thing doesn't accelerate. You're right about that. But the action and reaction forces act on two different things. The bullet and the rifle. The ball and the bat. The airplane and the air. etc. So BOTH can accelerate.