NEWTONS THIRD LAW OF

MOTION
CHAPTER 2 FORCE AND MOTION

NEWTONS THIRD LAW OF MOTION

When you are practising arm wrestling with

your friend, you will feel a force acting on

you.
Your friend will also be feeling a force acting
on him.
This is because while he is applying a force
on you, you are also applying a force on him.

NEWTONS THIRD LAW OF MOTION

If object A exerts a force, F on object B, the object B

will exert an equal but opposite force, - F on object A.

This law is also known as the action reaction law.

Hence, Newtons third law of motion can be quoted as

To every action, there is an equal but

opposite reaction.

EVERYDAY PHENOMENA THAT ARE GOVERNED BY NEWTONS THIRD LAW OF

MOTION:

A swimmer pushes the

water backward with his
hands and legs with a
force, F, while the reaction
force of water, F, pushes
the swimmer forward.

When a boy presses on

the wall with a force, F,
the wall presses on his
hand with a normal
reaction force, F.

When a man paddles

with a backward force,
+ F (action), the
reaction force, F,
pushes the boat
forwards.

The principle used in

rockets and jet engines can
be also be explained by
newtons third law of
motion. The action that
pushes the exhaust gases
out through the nozzle
results in a forward force
(reaction forces) that
propels the rocket or jet
engine forwards.

SUMMARY OF NEWTONS LAW OF MOTION

Newtons First Law of Motion

Every object in a state of uniform motion
tends to remain in that state of motion unless
an external force is applied to it.

This is often termed simply the "Law of

Inertia"

SUMMARY OF NEWTONS LAW OF MOTION

Newtons Second Law of Motion

The relationship between an object's mass, m,
its acceleration, a, and the applied force, F is
F = ma.

In this law the direction of the force vector is

the same as the direction of the acceleration
vector.

SUMMARY OF NEWTONS LAW OF MOTION

Newtons Third Law of Motion

For every action there is an equal and
opposite reaction.

EXERCISE

A force of 10 N acts on a 2 kg stationary

object. Calculate the distance travelled
by the object in 5 s.

 An object with a mass of 5 kg moves at a

constant velocity when it is pulled by a
horizontal force of 5 N on a level surface.
What is the acceleration of the object if
pulled with a force of 25 N

 Puan Zaitun pushes a trolley of mass m

kg with a force of 30 N. The trolley

moves with a uniform velocity of 1 ms-1.
When she doubles her force, the trolley
accelerates at 2 ms-2. Find the mass of
the trolley.