Understanding Newton's Third Law of Motion

Front

What is Newton's third law of motion?

Back

When one object exerts a force on a second object, the second object exerts a force of the same size but in the opposite direction on the first object.

Front

What happens when you push against a wall while wearing skates?

Back

You move away from the wall because the wall pushes back against you.

Front

Why don’t the forces in a force pair cancel each other?

Back

Each force acts on a different object, so they do not cancel out.

Front

What is a force pair?

Back

The forces two objects apply to each other.

Front

What is momentum?

Back

Momentum is a measure of how hard it is to stop a moving object, calculated as mass times velocity.

Front

What is the law of conservation of momentum?

Back

The total momentum of a group of objects stays the same unless outside forces act on the objects.

Front

What is an elastic collision?

Back

A collision where colliding objects bounce off each other.

Front

What is an inelastic collision?

Back

A collision where objects collide and stick together.

Front

How do action and reaction forces work?

Back

For every action force, there is a reaction force of equal strength but in the opposite direction.

Front

What is the momentum equation?

Back

Momentum (p) = mass (m) × velocity (v).