Final answer:
Correct option: c) the backward impulse felt by an object while it is exerting a forward impulse on another object. Recoil refers to the backward movement of an object, such as a gun, as a result of momentum conservation during the ejection of a projectile like a bullet. Impulse during firing results in an equal and opposite momentum on the firearm, translating into recoil in accordance with Newton's third law.
Step-by-step explanation:
Recoil is the backward movement of an object as a result of momentum transfer during a collision or the expulsion of mass, such as when shooting a bullet from a gun. According to the law of conservation of momentum when the net external force is zero, the total momentum of a system remains constant. This means that the momentum lost by the bullet as it is fired is equal to the momentum gained by the gun, resulting in recoil. Essentially, recoil is the backward impulse felt by the firing object while exerting a forward impulse on the projectile.
The recoil you experience when a rifle is discharged is due to the conservation of momentum. For example, if a bullet of mass m is fired with a velocity v, the rifle (with a larger mass) will recoil with a velocity that ensures that the product of the mass and velocity (momentum) of the rifle is equal in magnitude and opposite in direction to that of the bullet. This mutual interaction is a demonstration of Newton's third law of action-reaction.
If we examine the phenomenon of recoil more scientifically, we can understand it through the quantities involved. Linear momentum is defined as the product of the mass of a system (here, the bullet or gun) times its velocity. The impulse delivered during firing contributes to the change in momentum, which then can be observed as recoil in the firearm.