Newton's Third Law Tutorial

Work through the tutorial by clicking the image or link below, then answer the questions below. Newton's Third Law

Part A
The action is: Earth pulls on Moon. What is the reaction?

Hint 1. Newtons third law

If object A is exerting a force on object B, then the reaction is object B exerting a force on object A. ANSWER: Moon pulls on Sun. Moon pulls on Earth. Earth pushes on Moon. Moon pushes on Earth.

Correct
Since the Earth is pulling on the Moon, the Moon is pulling on the Earth.

Part B
Which force is greater, the Earths pull on the Moon, or the Moons pull on the Earth?

Hint 1. Reaction pair

The forces in a reaction pair are equal in strength and opposite in direction. ANSWER: Moons pull Earths pull Both pulls are the same.

Correct
Since the Moon pulling on the Earth and the Earth pulling on the Moon are a reaction pair, the strengths of the two forces must be equal to each other.

Part C
If the cannons recoil is the result of an equal and opposite reaction, why is the cannons acceleration lower than the shells acceleration?

Hint 1. Newtons second law

Think about Newtons second law, .

ANSWER: The cannons acceleration is not lower than the shells acceleration; it has the same acceleration as the shell. Not as much force is applied to it. The cannon has more mass than the shell.

Correct
Since the cannon has more mass than the shell, it will have a lower acceleration because both objects experience the force. This can be understood from Newtons second law ( ).

Part D
Since movement of an object or system requires that a net force be applied to it, how can this occur if all action forces have opposite and equal reaction forces?

Hint 1. Newtons second law

Newtons second law relates the net force and the resulting acceleration of an individual object. ANSWER: Sometimes there are singular (unpaired) forces acting on an object. The action force doesnt act on the same object as the reaction force. Newton was never able to explain this.

Correct
Newtons second law can be applied to each of the objects. In fact, this explains why the two objects can have different resulting accelerations.

Part E
In Lesson 3 of the tutorial, the horse is pulling a cart. What allows the horse to accelerate forward even though the cart is pulling back on the horse?

Hint 1. Forces acting on the horse

Think about what forces are acting directly on the horse. The net force must be directed to the right. ANSWER: The force of friction the ground exerts on the horse is larger than the force the cart is pulling back on the horse. The horse is pulling on the cart with a stronger force than the cart is pulling back on the horse. Friction from the ground on the horse is stronger than the sideways force the horse is exerting on the ground.

Correct
The net force exerted on the horse must be to the right if the horse accelerates to the right. The only two horizontal forces acting on the horse are friction (pushing forward) and the cart (pulling backward), so the friction force must be stronger.

Part F
Which of the following is NOT a statement or consequence of Newtons third law?

Hint 1. Newtons third law

Newtons third law deals with force pairs.

ANSWER: Every force has an opposite and equal reaction. No force can exist on its own. There can never be only one force acting on an object. All forces come in pairs.

Correct
Newtons third law doesnt specify how many forces can act on any one object (it just states that each of the forces will have a reaction force acting on other objects).

Part G
Which force diagram could be representing a reaction pair?

Hint 1. Forces in a reaction pair

Forces in a reaction pair are always equal in magnitude and oppositely directed. ANSWER: A B C

Correct
The magnitudes of the two force vectors are equal, and the vectors are pointed in opposite directions.

Video: Action and Reaction on Rifle and Bullet

Watch the video and then answer the following questions.

Part A
How does the force on the rifle compare with the force on the bullet, and why?

Hint 1. Law that relates the force of action and reaction

Think about Newtons third law: How do the forces on the two objects (that is, the force of action and the force of reaction) compare? ANSWER: The magnitude of the force of the rifle is equal to the magnitude of force on the bullet and the forces are in the opposite direction, because for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. The magnitude of the force of the rifle is equal to the magnitude of force on the bullet and both forces are in the same direction, because for every action there is an equal reaction. The force on the rifle is greater than the force on the bullet because the mass of the rifle is greater. The force on the rifle is less than the force on the bullet because the mass of the rifle is greater.

Correct

Part B
How does the magnitude of acceleration of the rifle compare with the magnitude of acceleration of the

bullet, and why?

Hint 1. Two important laws of motion

Think about Newtons third law: How do the forces on the two objects (that is, the force of action and the force of reaction) compare? Also think about Newtons second law: If two objects have the same force but one has a much larger mass than the other, how will their accelerations compare? ANSWER: The magnitude of acceleration of the rifle is equal to the magnitude of acceleration of the bullet because they experience the same magnitude of force. The magnitude of acceleration of the rifle is greater than the magnitude of acceleration of the bullet. Even though they experience the same magnitude of force, the mass of the rifle is greater, and so the rifle will experience a greater acceleration than the bullet. The acceleration of the rifle is smaller than the acceleration of the bullet. They experience the same magnitude of force, but the mass of the rifle is greater, and so the rifle will experience a smaller acceleration than the bullet.

Correct

Part C
How does the distance traveled by the bullet compare with the distance traveled by the rifle in the same time, and why?

Hint 1. Relationship between acceleration and distance traveled

Think about the accelerations of the two objects. If they have the same acceleration, how far will each travel in the same time? ANSWER: The bullet will travel the same distance as the rifle because they have equal magnitudes of acceleration. The bullet will travel farther than the rifle because it has a greater magnitude of acceleration. The rifle will travel farther than the bullet because it has a greater magnitude of acceleration.

Correct

Vectors Tutorial
Work through the tutorial by clicking the image or link below, then answer the questions below. Vectors

Part A
The length of a force vector indicates the ________. ANSWER: direction of force magnitude of force

Correct
The magnitude of the force is the strength of the force.

Part B
Two vectors are shown in the figure. Which of the four vectors also shown best represents the resultant vector?

Hint 1. Parallelogram rule

Use the parallelogram rule to add the two vectors. ANSWER:

vector A vector B vector C vector D

Correct
The horizontal component of the resultant vector is equal to the sum of the individual horizontal components of the two vectors, and the vertical component of the resultant vector is equal to the sum of the individual vertical components of the two vectors.

Part C
For which situation is the tension of the ropes higher?

Hint 1. What is supporting the force of gravity?

Only the components of the tension in the vertical direction support against the force of gravity. ANSWER: case A case B The tension of the ropes in case A is the same as that for case B.

Correct
Since the vertical components of the two tension vectors must add up to the persons weight, the tension must be higher when the ropes are more horizontal.

Part D

A person is hanging from two ropes, as shown in the figure. Which rope is supplying the higher tension force?

Hint 1. Using the horizontal forces

The net force in the horizontal direction is zero. ANSWER: The tensions of the two ropes are equal to each other. The rope to the left has the higher tension. The rope to the right has the higher tension.

Correct
The resultant of the two tension forces must point directly upward (to support the force of gravity). Since the left rope is directed more vertically than the right rope, the left rope must have a higher tension such that the horizontal component of the two tensions cancels out.