Question

Identify the action and reaction forces in the following situations: Earth attracts the Moon, a boy kicks a football, a rocket accelerates upward, a car accelerates forward, a high jumper leaps, and a bullet is shot from a gun.

a) Action: Earth pulls Moon, Reaction: Moon pulls Earth
b) Action: Boy's foot kicks, Reaction: Football kicks boy
c) Action: Rocket propels upward, Reaction: Air resists downward
d) Action: Car moves forward, Reaction: Road pushes car backward
e) Action: Jumper pushes downward, Reaction: Earth pushes upward
f) Action: Bullet leaves gun, Reaction: Gun recoils backward

Answer 1

Newton's Third Law states that every action has an equal and opposite reaction, identifying action-reaction force pairs in various situations from Earth and Moon's gravitational pull to the recoil of a gun firing a bullet.

Step-by-step explanation:

Newton's Third Law and Action-Reaction Pairs

In Newton's Third Law of motion, every action has an equal and opposite reaction. This law explains the forces in action and their corresponding reactions in several scenarios:

• Action: Earth pulls on the Moon, Reaction: Moon pulls on Earth.
• Action: Boy's foot applies force to football, Reaction: Football applies a force on the boy's foot.
• Action: Rocket expels gas downwards (thrust), Reaction: Gas pushes back on rocket, propelling it upwards.
• Action: Car tires push backward on the road, Reaction: Road pushes forward on tires.
• Action: Jumper pushes down on the ground, Reaction: Ground pushes up on jumper.
• Action: Gun expels bullet forward, Reaction: Bullet's expulsion causes gun to recoil backward.

Understanding these action-reaction pairs is crucial for analyzing the physics of everyday phenomena, as well as more complex systems. They prove that two equal and opposite forces do not cancel each other out because they act on different systems, making it easier to understand a problem and find solutions.