Question

Use Newton's third law (law of action-reaction) and Newton's second law (law of acceleration: a=Fnet/m​​) to complete the following statements by filling in the blanks.

a. A bullet is loaded in a rifle, and the trigger is pulled. The force experienced by the bullet is (less than, equal to, greater than) the force experienced by the rifle. The resulting acceleration of the bullet is (less than, equal to, greater than) the resulting acceleration of the rifle.

b. A bug crashes into a high-speed bus. The force experienced by the bug is (less than, equal to, greater than) the force experienced by the bus. The resulting acceleration of the bug is (less than, equal to, greater than) the resulting acceleration of the bus.

c. A massive linebacker collides with a smaller halfback at midfield. The force experienced by the linebacker is (less than, equal to, greater than) the force experienced by the halfback. The resulting acceleration of the linebacker is (less than, equal to, greater than) the resulting acceleration of the halfback.

d. The 10-ball collides with the 14-ball on the billiards table (assume equal mass balls). The force experienced by the 10-ball is (less than, equal to, greater than) the force experienced by the 14-ball. The resulting acceleration of the 10-ball is (less than, equal to, greater than) the resulting acceleration of the 14-ball.

Answer 1

Using Newton's second and third laws, we understand that the forces are always equal, but the acceleration differs based on the mass of the objects involved. In each scenario, the smaller mass has greater acceleration, and identical masses have equal accelerations.

Step-by-step explanation:

By applying Newton's third law (action-reaction) and Newton's second law (force and acceleration), we can understand the following scenarios:

1. A bullet is loaded in a rifle, and the trigger is pulled. The force experienced by the bullet is equal to the force experienced by the rifle. The resulting acceleration of the bullet is greater than the resulting acceleration of the rifle because the bullet's mass is much less than the rifle's.
2. A bug crashes into a high-speed bus. The force experienced by the bug is equal to the force experienced by the bus. However, the resulting acceleration of the bug is greater than the resulting acceleration of the bus due to the bug's much smaller mass.
3. A massive linebacker collides with a smaller halfback at midfield. The force experienced by the linebacker is equal to the force experienced by the halfback. Yet, the resulting acceleration of the linebacker is less than the resulting acceleration of the halfback because the linebacker has a greater mass.
4. The 10-ball collides with the 14-ball on the billiards table (assume equal mass balls). The force experienced by the 10-ball is equal to the force experienced by the 14-ball. Consequently, the resulting acceleration of the 10-ball is equal to the resulting acceleration of the 14-ball as they have the same mass.