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Newton's Third Law

Part of the Mechanics section of Coddy's Physics journey. Lesson 13 of 97.

Newton's third law: when body A pushes on body B, body B pushes back on A with a force of the same size in the opposite direction.

F⃗A→B=−F⃗B→A\vec{F}_{A \to B} = -\vec{F}_{B \to A}

Two carts push apart: equal and opposite forces act on cart A of 60 kilograms and cart B of 40 kilograms, and the lighter cart B moves away faster

Same force, different masses: the 40 kg40\ \mathrm{kg} cart gets the larger acceleration.

The two forces act on different bodies, so they never cancel each other. They can still cause different accelerations, because each body has its own mass.

Two skaters push apart. If the 30 N30\ \mathrm{N} push gives a 60 kg60\ \mathrm{kg} skater a=30/60=0.5 m/s2a = 30/60 = 0.5\ \mathrm{m/s^2}, the same 30 N30\ \mathrm{N} on a 40 kg40\ \mathrm{kg} skater gives 30/40=0.75 m/s230/40 = 0.75\ \mathrm{m/s^2} the other way.

Walking works the same way: your foot pushes the ground backward, and the ground pushes you forward.

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Challenge

Two skaters push off each other. The push gives the 60 kg60\ \mathrm{kg} skater m1\relax m_{1} an acceleration a1\relax a_{1} of 0.5 m/s20.5\ \mathrm{m/s^2}. What is the acceleration a2\relax a_{2} of the 40 kg40\ \mathrm{kg} skater m2\relax m_{2}?

Try it yourself

Physics diagram: crate; arrows F, a = 0.5 m/s², F, a = ?

Solve for a2a_{2}

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